<p>With the increasing problem of electromagnetic pollution, the study of wave-absorbing materials is of great significance for the protection of electromagnetic pollution. Since magnetic materials have the disadvantages of a single wave-absorbing mechanism and poor wave-absorbing performance, which hinder their wide application as ideal wave-absorbing materials, the composite of magnetic and dielectric materials in a certain ratio can improve their wave-absorbing performance. In this study, a novel cobalt-chromium ferrite (CoCrFeO₄)/carbon fiber (CF) composite wave-absorbing material was prepared by the hydrothermal method. The crystal structure, microscopic morphology, and wave-absorbing properties of carbon fiber (CF) and cobalt-chromium ferrite (CoCrFeO₄) with different mixing ratios were also investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vector network analyzer (VNA). The results show that the surface layer of the carbon fiber (CF) and its longitudinal grooves are inlaid with a large number of cobalt-chromium ferrite (CoCrFeO₄) particles, forming a good cladding structure. Moreover, the reflection loss of cobalt-chromium ferrite (CoCrFeO₄) is − 21.29&#xa0;dB at 8.06&#xa0;GHz, and the minimum reflection loss of the composite reaches − 24.10&#xa0;dB at the frequency of 9.25&#xa0;GHz, which is higher than that of a single cobalt-chromium ferrite (CoCrFeO₄) material without carbon fiber (CF) incorporation.</p>