Multiferroic materials, which show simultaneous ferroelectric and magnetic ordering, exhibit unusual physical properties - and in turn promise new device applications - as a result of the coupling between their dual order parameters. BiFeO3 is currently considered the most promising candidate material for device applications of room temperature multiferroics. However, its G-type antiferromagnetic behavior and high Néel temperature restrict the use of this material in potential applications. We report the synthesis and characterization of a novel Bi2FeNiO6 material for the first time using a citric acid assisted gel combustion technique. Magnetization studies reveal that it exhibits ferrimagnetism with Néel temperature around 500 K. Differential scanning calorimetry study also reveals a sharp phase transition at 500 K. These materials also exhibit good ferroelectric behavior with square type hysteresis with a remanent polarization (Pr) of 1.28 μC cm-2, saturation polarization (Ps) of 18 μC cm-2 and coercive fields 20 kV and -40 kV respectively. The results are convincing to make a big step towards developing devices that run on spin. © 2013 Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Germany.