Here, we present a facile, one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of NiCoZn (NCZ) ternary metal oxide nanorods adapted glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for trace level recognition of dopamine (DA) in biofluids. The NCZ-MMO/GCE sensor exhibits a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.01 nM with a linear range of detection from 1 nM to 500 μM. The sensor exhibits excellent selectivity and stability with the successful determination of DA in human blood serum with good recovery percentages ranging from ∼96.43% to 103.91%. Thus, proving it as a promising low-cost, reliable platform for a wide variety of bioanalytical applications. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.