In order to solve the problems of high power consumption and low output damping force of magnetorheological (MR) dampers, the relationship model between structural parameters and optimization objectives of MR dampers was established by taking the low power consumption and light weight of MR damper as the optimization objectives; multiobjective genetic algorithm was used to optimize the structural parameters, and the optimal solution was obtained; the experimental study of the optimized MR damper was carried out to verify the rationality of the selected parameters. The results show that the average power consumption of the MR damper is reduced by 46% and the maximum damping force is increased by 30%; there is a mutual equilibrium relationship between the power consumption and the damping force of the MR damper. It provides theoretical and experimental basis for the parameter design of the MR damper.