Abstract Zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel auto combustion method using citric acid as a fuel. The metal nitrate to fuel ratio was taken as 1:3. The as synthesized powder of Zn ferrite nanoparticles is annealed at 600˚C for 6 h and prepared sample was used for characterization and investigations of structural and magnetic properties. The structural characterization of Zn ferrite nanoparticles were done by X-ray diffraction technique. The crystallite size obtained by Scherer’s formula is in the order of 29 nm. The lattice constant determined from XRD data is in the reported range 8.429 Å. The morphological properties were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Keywords: Zn ferrite, Sol-gel auto-combustion, XRD, SEM, Garnet