The spinet ferrite Ni0.8Zn0.2Fe1.98Dy0.02O4 was prepared by sol-gel low temperature autocombustion method using four different chelating/combustion agents: citric acid, tartaric acid, urea and cellulose. Infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area measurement, the catalytic H2O2 decomposition and the magnetic behavior were employed to investigate the influence of the combustion agents on structural characteristics, catalytic activity and magnetic properties. Spinel-type phase in the nano-scale domain was accomplished during sol-gel synthesis and was confirmed by XRD and IR. The best catalytic activity is belonging to the sample obtained using urea, which shows the smallest grain size (SEM), the highest specific surface area (BET measurements) and DyFeO3 phase (XRD), while ferrimagnetic behavior prevails for all the samples independently of fuel agent. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.