We investigate the influence of Zn substitution on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in Cd1-xZnxCr2S4 ( 0 <= x <= 0.5). The Curie temperature was found to decrease from 87 to 21 +/- 2 K when Zn content increases from 0 to 0.5, due to the increase of the competitive ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic interactions. Universal curves based on re-scale entropy change curves reveal the second order magnetic transition for all samples. The magnetic entropy change (similar to Delta SM), and the relative cooling power (RCP) were found to decrease with increasing Zn content. The significant decrease of magnetocaloric parameters can be understood by the diminution of magnetization upon Zn substitution. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.