PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the magnetic properties and the hysteresis loops behavior of a ferrimagnetic cubic nanowire with mixed spins SA = 3/2 and SB = 2.Design/methodology/approachWe have used the Monte Carlo simulation to examine the influences of the exchange interaction JB, the crystal field ∆ and the temperature on the magnetic properties and hysteresis loops of the nanowire. More exactly, we have shown the temperature dependence of the sublattice magnetizations (mA and mB) and the total magnetization (M) for several values of the Hamiltonian parameters, as well as the corresponding phase diagrams. Finally, the effect of an external magnetic field is studied by plotting the hysteresis loops of the system for different values of exchange interaction, crystal field and temperature.FindingsThe obtained results show the existence of second-order phase transitions, as well as the compensation behavior. Moreover, according to the values of the Hamiltonian parameters, the system can exhibit one, two or three hysteresis loops.Originality/valueThe magnetic nanowires are of great interest in experimental works, but without theoretical explanations, the experimental results cannot be clarified in depth. For this, we contribute through this theoretical study to understand the nanowires, especially those with mixed spins (2, 3/2).