Elliptical-type α-Fe
2O
3 nanoparticles with/without silica shell have been prepared. The core particles were coated with uniform continuous layers of silica of two different thicknesses by hydrolysis of TEOS. The obtained HCP structure elliptical α-Fe
2O
3 nanoparticles with
240 nm length and 100 nm width is polycrystalline in nature. The thicknesses of SiO
2 shell coated on α-Fe
2O
3 are about 55 and 30 nm, respectively. The optical and magnetic properties of these nanoparticles have been investigated.