Magnetic 3D nitrogen doped graphene gels (MNG) were easily obtained via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis process. It was found that N doping process, reduction of graphene oxide and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) generation in situ proceeded simultaneously, accompanied by the three-dimensional self-assembly. The MNG hybrids were confirmed to be interconnected poriferous frameworks of graphene sheets with uniform dispersion of Fe3O4 NPs embedded or encapsulated in N-doped graphene layers. The catalytic performance of MNG nanocatalysts was evaluated by the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. It was worth noting that the catalytic activity of MNG hybrids was remarkably enhanced by Fe3O4 NPs loading due to the change of N doping mode induced by the in situ synthesis of these magnetic NPs, which did not alter the C/N mass ratio in fact. Meanwhile, the reaction no longer simply followed the pseudo-zero-order kinetics in late stage, this might be attributed to the enhancement of catalytic activity. Furthermore, MNG nanocatalysts were easily recycled by virtue of their superparamagnetism and exhibited excellent stability. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.