In the paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of bulk and thin films of cobalt doped ZnO. Doped ZnO thin films with (002) orientation were grown on sapphire substrates in different N2 pressures using a Nd:YAG laser based PLD system. XPS analysis of thin films confirmed the presence of Co+2 ions in the bulk target material and in thin film samples. PL measurements exhibited emission in the visible region only. M–H curves showed ferromagnetic nature of thin films which was found to change with the change in ambient nitrogen gas pressure. The surface morphology of thin films was also affected by ambient nitrogen gas pressure.