Substituted ferrites with the chemical composition M x Fe 1 - x Fe 2 O 4 .nH 2 O (M: Mn(II), x: 0.35, n: 0.4; M: Ni(II), x: 0.38, n: 1; M: Zn(II), x: 0.45, n: 0.35) have been prepared by a soft chemical method using as starting materials magnetite and suitable acetates. These compounds have been characterised by elemental chemical analysis, thermal analysis, IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction on powder, transmission electron microscopy studies as well as Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction study indicates that the substituted ferrites adopt a cubic structure and the size of particles determined from the diffraction peak is fairly close to that indicated for agglomerates by transmission electron microscopy. The magnetic methods agree to the substitution of Fe(II) in the octahedral positions preserving the inversed spinel structure.