The structural parameters, photoluminescence (PL), and magnetic characteristics of MxSn1−xOy (M/SnO2) nanocomposites, synthesized by the hydrothermal method, where x = 0.0, 0.5, and M present non-magnetic metals (Cu, Al) and magnetic metals (Fe, Ni, Mn) were studied. The crystallite size and porosity of SnO2 were reduced by mixing with Cu, Al, Fe, or Ni, meanwhile, increased by integrating with Mn. The residual stress of SnO2 was increased 5-fold by Mn doping. The energy dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that Al is the lowest ion for full acceptor incorporation into the SnO2 lattice, while the other doped metal ions show better incorporation.  SnO2 doping has a significant impact on the particle morphologies of MxSn1−xOy nanocomposites. The Debye temperature (θD) and Young’s modulus (Y) were estimated from the FTIR spectra. The value of θD is 633.86 K for SnO2 nanoparticles and increased to 694.68 K for Mn/SnO2, while it decreased to 608.27 K for Fe/SnO2. The value of Y was increased from 518.30 GPa for SnO2 to 864.41 GPa for Cu/SnO2 nanocomposite. The PL intensity of SnO2 was decreased by Cu, Fe, Ni, and Mn doping, whereas it was increased by Al doping. The blueshift was observed for Al/SnO2 and Mn/SnO2, whereas it is a slight ultraviolet shift for Cu/SnO2, Fe/SnO2, and Ni/SnO2 nanocomposites. SnO2 nanoparticle and Al/SnO2 nanocomposite exhibit weak ferromagnetic behavior by increasing the magnetic field (H) up to 4 kG, while with further increase in H, the samples exhibit diamagnetic behavior. In contrast, the Fe/SnO2, Ni/SnO2, and Mn/SnO2 nanocomposites show a paramagnetic trend, while the Cu/SnO2 nanocomposites exhibit a diamagnetic trend in the magnetic field range of 0–20 kG. The saturated magnetization and magnetic moment are enhanced for all MxSn1−xOy nanocomposites, whereas the corrective field and magnetic anisotropy are decreased compared to SnO2 nanoparticles. The f indings recommended SnO2 and Al/SnO2 composites for spintronic devices and cathode–luminescence displays, Fe/SnO2, Ni/SnO2, and Mn/SnO2 nanocomposites for magnetic imaging, and Cu/SnO2 composites for catalytic and plastic deforma tion applications.