In this paper, a new type of small-sized vibration exciter using a magnetostrictive actuator is proposed, and the static characteristics of the actuator and the dynamic characteristics of the exciter are discussed experimentally. The vibration exciter is composed of a magnetostrictive actuator using a Terfenol-D (Tb0. 3, Dy0. 7, Fe1. 93) rod and a disk-mass system. The disk-mass system is attached to the cover plate of the actuator through four struts. The exciting force is obtained by the inertia force resulting from the vibration of the disk-mass system. The harmonic responses of the exciter were measured using a wave generator, a personal computer and a DC power supply. The maximum exciting force of 295 N at 78 Hz was obtained by using the mass of l0 kg. The exciting force was controlled by feedback control in order to obtain a constant exciting force of 20 N within 30∼100 Hz.