In this work, a new magnetically separable nanocatalyst was developed by covalent binding of a Schiff base ligand, N,N'-bis(3-salicylidenaminopropyl)amine (salpr), on the surface of silica coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4/SiO2) and followed complexation with Cu(OAc)(2). Characterization of the prepared nanocatalyst (Fe3O4/SiO2/Cu(II)salpr) was performed with different physicochemical methods such as FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The prepared Fe3O4/SiO2/Cu(II)salpr catalyst presented high activity for selective oxidation of various alkyl aromatics with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant. After the reaction, the catalyst was easily separated by simply applying an external magnetic field.