A novel and facile approach for one-pot synthesis of spinet cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) is presented here. The synthesis involves homogeneous chemical precipitation followed by hydrothermal heating, using tributylamine (TBA) as a hydroxylating agent. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 was used as surfactant. As-synthesized CoFe2O4 NPs were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm (BET) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). TEM image showed formation of spherical particles of sizes 2-30 nm. These NPs were used as magnetically recoverable catalyst in oxidation of alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes by periodic acid. This oxidative procedure is found to be highly efficient affording products in very high yield and selectivity. The easy magnetic separation of the catalyst and efficient reusability are key features of this methodology. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.