A new type of Co-Ni-P coated strontium ferrite nanocomposite was prepared with electroless plating enhanced by ultrasonic wave at room temperature. The plating process was studied carefully. The morphology, crystal structure and microwave absorption properties of the Co-Ni-P coated powder were studied with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDX) and vector network analyzer. The results show that the strontium ferrite powder was successfully coated with Co-Ni-P alloy and possesses excellent microwave absorption properties. The maximum microwave loss of the composite powder reaches -44.12 dB. The bandwidth with the loss above -10 dB exceeds 13.8 GHz. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.