Magnetic composites of barium ferrite coated on fly-ash cenospheres (BFACs) were prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion method. To promote surface activity, we modified fly-ash cenospheres (FACs) surfaces using gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane CAPS) as coupling agent and silver nitrate as activating agent before coating barium ferrite films on FACs. The morphology, composition, crystal structure, magnetic and microwave absorption properties of these composite powders were characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and vector network analyzer. Continuous and uniform coatings of barium ferrite were found on the surfaces of the FACs. The BFACs powders-epoxy composite possesses excellent microwave absorption properties in the 2-18 GHz frequency range. The maximum microwave reflection loss reaches -15.4 dB at 8.4 GHz with a thickness of 3.0 mm, and the widest bandwidth less than -12 dB is 6.2 GHz with a sample thickness of 2.0 mm. The intrinsic reasons for microwave absorption were also investigated. Applications of this composite material in magnetic recording, electromagnetic wave shielding, and lightweight microwave-absorbing fields are promising. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.