Abstract: A process for the preparation of ferromagnetic metallic particles for magnetic recording which comprises(I) a step of preparing a slurry of acicular iron oxide hydrate containing nickel and, if necessary, manganese,(II) a step of coating the surface of the above iron oxide hydrate with aluminum-containing iron oxide hydrate, thus giving a slurry containing the coated iron oxide hydrate and free aluminate ions,(III) a step of depositing aluminum and phosphorus and/or silicon on the outside surface of the aluminum-containing iron oxide hydrate, thereby giving a slurry of the iron oxide hydrate thus treated,(IV) a step of subjecting the slurry to washing, drying and dehydrating, reducing the obtained particles, and forming an oxide layer on the surface of the reduced particles.

Abstract: In a method of producing a hydrated iron oxide as a starting material for a magnetic powder by aging a suspension of a ferric hydroxide prepared by reacting a ferric salt with an aqueous solution of alkali, the aging temperature is controlled between 20.degree. and 100.degree. C. and pH is controlled between 1 and 6 for the first 5 to 240 minutes while nuclei of hydrated iron oxide crystals generate, and then the aqueous solution of alkali is added again to adjust the pH value to 10 to 13.5 to make the crystals grow. This production method is capable of producing an acicular hydrated iron oxide having a reduced particle-size distribution range and also capable of controlling the length of the crystals as desired.