Magnetite particles and monosized polystyrene beads were trapped in a silica-gel, which was then dried by using supercritical fluid extraction. When the monolithic dried gel is sintered, the polystyrene beads are pyrolyzed, leaving a porous magnetized piece of ceramic with controlled pore sizes. These ''magnetic gel'' ceramics provide a novel class of materials for use in gel magnetophoresis and other biophysical applications.