This paper presents an electro-hydraulic semi-active damper to harvest the suspension kinetic energy for the purpose of further improving the fuel efficiency of off-road vehicles. This regenerative damper can transform the reciprocating suspension vibration into unidirectional generator rotation, and meanwhile achieve approximately asymmetric rebound/compression damping force in a wide controllable region. The working mechanism of this new damper is first elaborated, and then its dynamic model is mathematically derived based on the first-principle analysis of hydraulic and electric components. A prototyping damper is designed and manufactured, and a series of experimental tests are conducted to demonstrate its effectiveness to generate the damping characteristic and energy harvesting capability. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.