A solvothermal synthetic route was used to prepare Ce3+ doped Zn ferrites, where sphere-like clusters aggregated by nanosized particles were fabricated. The size of the cluster and the saturation magnetization of the sample are decreasing with the increase of Ce3+. These samples can be easily separated from aqueous solutions by applying a magnetic field and have a high loading capacity of Cr(VI). The Cr(VI) adsorption experiments indicated that the adsorption was divided into two processes, in which the first one took place about 6 h, the second one took place between 6 and 96 h. The maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) was determined to be 57.24 mg/g. Langmuir model was employed to fit the adsorption isotherm, which implied the single layer adsorption. The data of (S) over dot(BET), external area and porous area of the samples can be used to explain these adsorption processes. And the Ce3+ ions doped in the sample induced the increasing adsorption capacity of Cr(VI). The adsorption process can be described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.