<p>The rapid increase in population and industrialization has led to a serious threat to water security, that the global society is facing in the current century. Nanotechnology is an emerging field that deals with environmental pollution, especially waste water treatment. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have received remarkable attention due to their unique physiochemical and magnetic properties. Due to its low cost, high adsorption capacity, high surface area and easy separation by external magnetic field is the distinct feature of iron oxide nanoparticles which make it a suitable material for environmental applications. The removal efficiencies of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles on various process are discussed in details. A remarkable value of 90.94% was achieved for Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite through adsorption and 93% and 88.52% degradation was observed for TiO₂-Fe₂O₃ and ZnO/γ-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites through photocatalytic degradation. This review contributes to a focus on the comprehensive detail study of the fabrication methods, magnetic properties and performance enhancement of magnetic of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles and remediation techniques for the waste water treatment. Based on the current study, all the available efforts for the fabrication and applications of iron oxide nanoparticles for waste water remediation are discussed in detail. The novelty of this research is to highlight hurdles associated with fabrication of high-quality magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and their preservation from environmental effects are discussed. Various essential features of iron oxide nanoparticles for water remediations are discussed in detail.</p>