The field-induced assembly of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles under alternating magnetic field of different frequency was investigated. It was found that the assembly was dependent upon the difference between colloidal relaxation time and field period. The same experiments on DMSA-coated γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles exhibited that the relaxation time may be mainly determined by the magnetic size rather than the physical size. Our results may be valuable for the knowledge of dynamic assembly of colloidal particles.