The zinc ferrite nanoparticles are synthesized by a simple and low cost solid state technique. The synthesized powder is pre‐sintered at 200°C for 5 h and annealing at different temperatures. The crystal structure, phase purity, optical, and morphological analysis studies of synthesized ferrites materiel are investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopic (SEM), UV–Visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques, respectively. The XRD pattern of all zinc ferrite samples shows the formation of single‐phase cubic spinel structure. The optical band gap of zinc ferrite is found to be 1.96 eV. The change in morphology of zinc ferrite is observed due to the effect of the annealing temperature.