The importance of magnetic micro and nanoparticles for applications in biomedical technology is widely recognized. Many of these applications including tissue engineering, cell sorting, bio-sensors, drug delivery, lab-on-chip devices require remote manipulation of magnetic objects. High gradient magnetic fields generated by micromagnets in the range of 10 3 − 10 5 T/m are sufficient for magnetic forces to overcome the other forces caused by viscosity, gravity, and thermal fluctuations. In this paper, various magnetic systems capable of generating magnetic fields with required spatial gradients are analyzed. Starting from simple systems of individual magnets and methods of field computation, more advanced magnetic microarrays obtained by lithography patterning of permanent magnets are introduced. More flexible field configurations can www.videleaf.com be formed with the use of soft magnetic materials magnetized by an external field which allows control over both temporal and spatial field distribution. As an example, soft magnetic microwires are considered. A very attractive way of field generation is utilizing tunable domain configurations. In this review we will discuss the force requirements and constrains for different areas of application emphasizing the current challenges and how to overcome them.