We successfully synthesized $Fe_3O_4@SiO_2$ nanoparticles with ultrathin silica layer of $1.0{pm}0.5$ nm that polyethyleneimine (PEI) with low molecular weight of 2.0-4.0 kDa was covalently conjugated with the resulting $Fe_3O_4@SiO_2$ nanoparticles by silane coupling reaction. The PEI-$Fe_3O_4@SiO_2$ nanoparticles were further used as gene delivery vector for a human fibroblast cell (IMR-90) line. Gene transfection efficiency of the PEI-$Fe_3O_4@SiO_2$ complexes did not increase remarkably after magnetofection; however, the addition of Lipofectamine 2000 significantly increased the transfection efficiency of the PEI-$Fe_3O_4@SiO_2$ complexes. We believe that the present approach could be utilized for magnetofection as alternative to $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles conjugated with the PEI of high molecular weight thanks to its relatively low cytotoxicity and high transfection efficiency.