Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are widely considered to have great potential for portable electric applications, and the power requirements for many of them are only a few watts. Therefore, a low power liquid pump is especially desirable for driving the methanol solution fuel for an active direct methanol fuel. The main objective of this paper is to design and fabricate a magnetic fluid micropump that has characteristics of low operation voltage and current and is suitable for use in DMFCs. Two prototypes were developed and tested. The magnetic fluid micropumps are successfully applied to drive the fuel to a DMFC, and measurements of the cell performance are also conducted. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.