In the present work, the nanosized yttrium iron garnet (Y(3)Fe(5)O(12)), yttrium perovskite ferrite (YFeO(3)), cobalt, nickel and zinc iron spinel (CoFe(2)O(4), NiFe(2)O(4) and ZnFe(2)O(4), respectively) powders were synthesized by an aqueous sol-gel process. These compounds have been used for the first time as precursors for the preparation of black ceramic pigments. The possible application of the obtained black ceramic pigments as ceramic glazes was also demonstrated. The microstructural evolution and morphological features of the obtained transition metal ferrites, pigments and glazes were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).