<p>In this research, the effects of co-additions of 5 mol% Li₂O and various amounts of ZnO (2–10 mol%) on the structure and biological properties of bioactive glass 58S were investigated. The synthesized glass-ceramics via sol-gel method were evaluated using X-ray diffraction technique, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) techniques. Then, the samples were placed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for various durations to investigate the biological properties. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX or EDS) were used to evaluate the ion release and the formation of calcium phosphate precipitates after SBF immersion. MTT assay and alkaline phosphatase activity examinations were applied to investigate the effect of glass-ceramics on the MG63 cells. Also, the antibacterial activities were examined using the agar plate test. The results showed that the Zn²⁺ and Li⁺ co-addition increased the degree of crystallinity while decreasing the crystallization temperature. Calcium phosphate precipitates were only detected in the bioactive glass-ceramic 58S group. However, the glass-ceramics containing 4% and 6% ZnO (both with 5% Li₂O) showed the best results in the MTT and ALP activity assays. The highest antibacterial activity was related to the bioactive glass-ceramic 58S. The addition of ZnO and Li₂O in appropriate concentrations can positively affect cell viability and alkaline phosphatase activity.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>