A low-temperature solvothermal synthetic method was developed for the large-scale synthesis, of uniform-sized ferrite MFe2O4 (M = Mg, Cu, Ni) microspheres. The size of the as-prepared ferrite MFe2O4 microspheres could be controlled to be diameters 300-800 nm in diameter by adjusting some growth parameters, such as reaction time and concentration. The structures of the as-prepared ferrite MFe2O4 microspheres were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The magnetic properties of the ferrite MFe2O4 microspheres were also investigated. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.