With the help of microwave-assisted technique, zirconia (ZrO2) nanocrystalline powder was synthesized using a structure directing agent which could be controlled by the nucleation and particle growth. The various characterizations, namely, phase, surface morphology, surface area analysis and optical property were carried out by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and UV–visible spectroscopy. From XRD analysis, it was found that the synthesized materials reveal the tetragonal crystalline phase. The average particle size of ZrO2was found 14.7 nm by TEM. Specific surface area, pore volume and the pore size for ZrO2are 220 m2/g, 0.02 cm3/g and 10.7 nm investigated by BET, respectively. UV–vis DRS spectra of the prepared material confirmed that the Zr atoms are exclusively incorporated within silica framework. Besides, the maximum absorption peaks were observed at 215 nm and 217 nm for as-synthesized and calcined samples, respectively. © 2016