In this paper, barium hexaferrite nanostructures have been successfully synthesized via sol-gel auto combustion method based on the reaction between Ba(NO3)(2) and Fe(NO3)(3)center dot 9H(2)O in water, in the presence of carbohydrate sugar as fuel, reducing and capping agent. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis. To investigate the effects of calcination temperature, the Ba2+ molar ratio to Fe3+ and the type of sugar on the morphology of products and finding optimal condition, several experiments were carried out. It was found that the phase and morphology of products could be influenced by these parameters. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to study the magnetic properties of BaFe12O19 samples. The uniform nanoparticles are produced when the maltose is used as the reduction and the molar ratio of Fe3+ to Ba2+ reaches 12. The resulted product has the properties of the hard magnetic material, so, it has got the specific saturation magnetization and coercivity 48 emu/g and 5000 Oe, respectively. (C) 2015 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.