Cationic lipid-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MPs) associated with transferrin were evaluated as gene transfer vectors in the presence of a static magnetic field. MPs were prepared by chemical precipitation and were surface-coated with cationic lipids, composed of DDAB/soy PC (60:40 mole/mole). These cationic MPs were then combined with polyethylenimine (PEI) condensed plasmid DNA, followed by transferrin. The resulting magnetic electrostatic complexes retained relatively compact particle size and showed complete DNA condensation. Their transfection activity in the presence of a static magnetic field was evaluated by luciferase and green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter genes. The magnetic complexes exhibited up to 300-fold higher transfection activity compared to commonly used cationic liposomes or cationic polymer complexes, based on luciferase assay. The enhancement in transfection activity was maximized when the cells were exposed to the vectors for a relatively short period of time (15 min), or were treated in media containing 10% serum. Incorporation of transferrin further improved transfection efficiency of the cationic MPs. However, when cells were incubated for 4h in serum-free media, magnetic and non-magnetic vectors showed similar transfection efficiencies. In conclusion, transferrin-associated cationic MPs are excellent gene transfer vectors that can mediate very rapid and efficient gene transfer in vitro in the presence of a magnetic field.