Pure and Mn2+ doped ZnO nanoparticles (Zn1-xMnxO with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) were prepared by co-precipitation method followed by drying at 200°C. A non-ionic surfactant, Tween-80, was used during preparation process to control the particles growth. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the formation of hexagonal wurtzite for pure and Mn2+ doped ZnO samples with a minor secondary phase. The Rietveld analysis confirmed the formation of hexagonal wurtzite structure as well as the secondary phase as Mn3O4 for all doping levels. Morphological observations showed the formation of nanoparticles with remarkable morphologies of which spherical nanostructures seem to be more dominant. The quantitative analysis from EDAX confirmed the purity of the as-prepared nanopowders and that the chemical composition of Zn, Mn and O seem to be close to the starting stoichiometries. Emission bands in both UV and visible regions were revealed by photoluminescence spectra, which were due to defect centers acting as trap levels. The diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) indicated a decrease in the value of bandgap with increasing Mn doping concentration. The ferromagnetic behaviour was very clear from the Magnetisation-Field (M-H) hysteresis curves, where the magnetic characteristics such as coercivity and saturation magnetization values, were found to be sensitive to Mn doping level. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.