Mn-Zn ferrites have shown various remarkable applications e.g. in magnetic amplifiers, power transformers and electromagnetic interference etc. due to their high initial permeability. Mn-Zn ferrite powder (Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) has been prepared by the co-precipitation method and subsequently sintered at three different temperatures i.e. 973 K, 1173 K, 1373 K. Optical properties have been correlated with the structural properties. For structural properties X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have been employed. It has been observed that there is an increase in crystallite size with sintering from 973 K to 1373 K and FTIR confirms the formation of bond between metal ion and oxygen ion at the octahedral site and tetrahedral site. A red shift has been confirmed from UV-visible absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra have been reported with an increase in sintering temperature. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.