Nano-imprint lithography (NIL) is one of the most promising technologies for the mass-production of nano-meter patterns. A commercial hydraulic press and a pair of hot plates were used as the NIL system reported so far. It is, however, large and heavy. In this paper, therefore, a new moving-coil actuator is proposed and is intended to be used as the driving power for a compact NIL system. Compared to the commercial hydraulic NIL system, two advantages of the new NIL system using the moving-coil actuator are the ease of precise control as well as the compact dimensions. Thus, it is suitable for the fabrication and replication of small-sized nano-meter patterns. To develop such a new moving-coil actuator, the electromagnetic finite element method (FEM) is utilized. In addition, a simple but effective state-space model is also established to describe the dynamic behavior of the moving-coil actuator. Finally, a series of simulations and experiments are carried out and the results show that the positioning accuracy of the developed moving-coil actuator is I gm.