This paper reports a molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) based fluorescence sensor which is synthesized by grafting MIP layers on the surface of ZnO nanorods embedded γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles via activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP). Methacrylic acid (MAA, functional monomer), 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl mathacrylate (MPS) modified γ-Fe₂O₃ (γ-Fe₂O₃/MPS, assistant magnetic monomer) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA, cross-linking monomer) were co-polymerized in anisole at 313 K in the presence of sulfamethazine as a template molecule. Sulfamethazine was then solvent-extracted to obtain ZnO-grafted molecularly imprinted polymers (ZnO-MIPs). ZnO-MIPs were characterized by FE-SEM, TEM, FT-IR, TGA/DSC, VSM, fluorescence spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was observed that sulfamethazine can quench the luminescence of ZnO-MIPs in a concentration-dependent manner that can be described by a Stern–Volmer-type equation. ZnO-MIPs were used to determine sulfamethazine in a spiked pork sample with good recognition ability. This study therefore demonstrates the potential application in the recognition and separation of antibiotics based on molecularly imprinted polymers.