The barium ferrite ultrafine particles were synthesized by coprecipitation in an aqueous solution with polyacrylic acid (PAA) as a protective agent. Thermal analysis by TGA/DTA showed that the precursor could yield barium ferrite after calcination above 700 degreesC for 2 h. By analyses of the XRD and electron diffraction pattern, the formation of pure barium ferrite was confirmed and the appropriate molar ratio of Ba/Fe in aqueous solution was determined to be 1/11. The TEM measurements indicated that the average diameter of the precursor was 4.5 nm, and the diameters of the particles calcined at 700 and 800 degreesC were 23-34 and 49-82 nm, respectively. The magnetic properties characterized by a SQUID magnetometer showed that the barium ferrite ultrafine particles calcined at 700-800 degrees C had a saturation magnetization of 36.9-60.8 emu/g, a remanent magnetization of 19.0-31.0 emu/g, a coercivity of 117.3-221.8 Oe, and a squareness ratio of 0.51. The magnetization was also observed to increase with a decrease of temperature at 5-400 K. These magnetic properties all reflected the nature of ultrafine particles and also were influenced by the morphology and microstructure of final products.