<p>Ferrites exhibit remarkable magnetic, electrical, and surface properties, making them practical for dye removal in water treatment. The characteristics of zinc cobalt ferrite Zn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel auto combustion technique have been studied. The effect of zinc concentration (x = 0.15, 0.3 and 0.45) on lattice parameters, magnetic properties, energy gap, and removal efficiency was investigated. The XRD and FT-IR confirmed the successful formation of a single-phase material, which exhibited a crystal structure characteristic of a face-centered cubic spinel arrangement with crystallite size ranged from 24 to 21&#xa0;nm. SEM images observe the porous structure. The magnetic results of zinc cobalt ferrite showed that the saturation and remnant magnetism decreased with increasing zinc content while the coercive force reached its maximum value at x = 0.3. The adsorption method was used to study the removal of malachite green dye depending on the types of prepared ferrite. The results showed that the higher the zinc content in the cobalt ferrite, is more efficient in dye removal, and its efficiency is 59.88% after 80&#xa0;min. On the other hand, a pseudo-first- and second-order kinetic model was used to calculate the equilibrium adsorption capacity and compare it with the experimental results. The results of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model showed a good agreement with the experimental results. The results showed an increase in the adsorption efficiency coupled with an increase in the zinc content in the cobalt ferrite.</p>