<p>The present study reports the antioxidant and anticancer activity of cobalt chromite (CoCr₂O₄) nanoparticles synthesized using solution combustion process. The structural analysis by X ray diffraction (XRD) technique confirmed the cubical spinal structure of cobalt chromite nanoparticles (CC-NPs). The crystallite size was determined as 16.7 nm using Scherrer’s formula. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results revealed a porous nanostructured morphology consisting of sphere-like agglomerated CC-NPs. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that the nanoparticles had elemental compositions such as chromium and cobalt in the proper stoichiometric ratios. The BET surface area was determined by N₂ sorption analysis. The optical absorption characteristics of spinal cobalt chromite were analysed using UV–Vis spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activity of CC-NPs was examined against pathogenic strains by well diffusion method and was found to be significantly effective. CC-NPs showed good antiradical property with IC₅₀ value of 166.51 µg/ml. The present study investigated in silico and in vitro anticancer efficacy of the as-synthesized CC-NPs. In silico molecular docking results revealed the strong binding energy of CoCr₂O₄ with receptor proteins. The in vitro cytotoxicity of CC-NPs was evaluated by MTT assay against breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231) and the results demonstrated dose dependent cytotoxicity with IC₅₀ value of 61.66 µg/ml. Based on the findings, we propose that CC-NPs could be a promising anticancer agent and employed as an alternative tool in cancer therapy.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>