The magnetic fluid seal is suitable for high-speed rotating shaft seal applications. Centrifuge force will have evident influence on magnetic fluid rotating shaft seals. The seal capacity of the rotating shaft seal can be improved or increased by some measures. Through hydrodynamic analysis the moving status of the magnetic fluid is worked out. By numerical method, the magnetic field and the isobars in the magnetic fluid of a seal device are computed. Then the influence of the centrifuge force on the magnetic fluid seal is calculated quantitatively. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.