This paper presents an electromagnetic design methodology for the magneto-rheological (MR) fluid actuator. In order to improve the performance of the MR fluid actuator, the magnetic circuit including the MR fluid, the ferromagnetic material for flux path and the electromagnetic coil should be well designed, thereby the magnetic field intensity can be effectively supplied to the MR fluid. First of all, in order to improve the static characteristic, the length of the flux path is decreased by removing the unnecessary bulk of the yoke. Next, in order to improve the dynamic and hysteretic characteristics, the magnetic reluctance of the ferromagnetic material is increased by minimizing the cross section through which the flux passes. The effectiveness of the proposed design methodology is verified by the magnetic analysis and a series of basic experiments.