The viscometric technique is used to study the effects of microstructure on the viscosity (viscosity vs. concentration or shear rate) of magnetic particle suspensions. In this characterization, measurement of suspension viscosity is used to obtain the dependence of viscous energy dissipation on microstructural state of dispersions. Microstructural shape effects which are related to particle orientation are then indirectly obtained. Empirical formulas from mean field theory and the Mooney equation, which are applicable at high concentration of magnetic particles, are used to relate viscosity to particle concentration. The validity and physical meaning of these equations are discussed.