The Yttrium ions substituted Ni-Zn ferrites powders were prepared using a sol-gel technique. The crystal structure, magnetic properties and microwave absorption properties of the Ni-Zn ferrites powders were studied by X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer and vector network analyzer. The results show that the microwave absorption properties of the Ni-Zn ferrites can be improved effectively with the substitution of Y ions. The minimum reflection loss of the Yttrium ions substituted Ni-Zn powder reaches –34.8 dB, with the –20 dB bandwidth over 2 GHz. The Yttrium substitution can improve microwave absorption properties of Ni-Zn ferrite due to smaller grain dimension and the higher specific magnetization