<p>The escalating issue of electromagnetic radiation pollution necessitates the development of high-performance microwave absorbing materials. Conventional spinel ferrites hold research value due to their tunable properties, while they often suffer from narrow absorption bandwidth and impedance mismatch. Although composite strategy can enhance performance, it still introduces fabrication complexity and instability. This work presents a straightforward and effective approach to intrinsically optimize the electromagnetic wave absorption properties of spinel ferrites through the coordination of cation doping and carbothermic structural regulation. A series of MFe₂O₄ (M = Mn, Zn, Cu) ferrites were synthesized via a solvothermal method followed by a controlled carbothermic reduction process. It discovers that the mass ratio of the ferrite precursor to activated carbon critically influences the microstructure and absorption properties. The sample with a 20:1 ratio exhibits optimized impedance matching and attenuation, achieving a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of -46.67 dB at 2.6&#xa0;mm. Furthermore, the cation doping was employed to fine-tune the electromagnetic parameters. Remarkably, the Zn²⁺ doping induces spin-lattice distortion, which synergistically enhanced dielectric loss and magnetic resonance. Consequently, the ZFO-20 absorber delivers superior performance, with an RL_min of -48.84 dB at a thin thickness of 2.1&#xa0;mm and an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.52&#xa0;GHz at 2.0&#xa0;mm, outperforming the Mn- and Cu-doped counterparts. The enhanced mechanism was attributed to the optimized impedance matching, abundant polarization sites from hierarchical nanostructures, and the synergistic coupling of multiple magnetic resonances with strengthened conduction and polarization losses. This study provides an effective strategy for designing high-performance, low-cost ferrite-based microwave absorbers through intrinsic property regulation.</p>