A microstrip leaky‐wave antenna (MLWA) with parasitic elements is presented in this letter. The short MLWA is the basic element, and two microstrip patches with a short‐circuit edge worked as the parasitic elements. The main lobe scans from 66° to 42° when operating frequency increases from 5.9 to 6.9 GHz. In contrast to the conventional MLWA, the reflected wave of the short MLWA (about two wavelengths) with parasitic elements is suppressed 12 dB at 6.9 GHz. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1565–1567, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23428