The present work shows preparation of barium ferrite nanoparticles, hexagonal zinc oxide and BaFe12O19/ ZnO nanocomposites as effective photocatalysts synthesized by hydrothermal method. The influence of various surfactants on morphology and particle size was studied. The prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) pectroscopy. Alternating gradient force magnetometer (AGFM) illustrated ferromagnetic behaviour of BaFe12O19 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic behaviour of BaFe12O19 ZnO nanocomposites was evaluated using the degradation of acid blue, acid brown, acid black and congored under ultraviolet light irradiation. The results show that nocomposites have applicable magnetic and photocatalytic performance