This paper studies the rapid design and implementation of the medium access control(MAC) and related interface circuits for 802.11 wireless LANs based on the field programmed gate ar-ray(FPGA) technology. Our design is thus aimed to support both the distributed coordination function (DCF) and the point coordination function(PCF) with the aid of FPGA technology. Further-more, in an infrastructure network, some stations may serve as the access points (APs) which may function like a learning bridge. This paper will also discuss how to design for such application. The hardware of the MAC and interface may at least consist of three major parts: wireless transmission and reception processes and in-terface, host(bus) interface, and the interface to the distributed system (optional). Through the increasing popularity of FPGA de-sign, this paper presents how Complex Programmable Logic De-vices(CPLD) can be utilized for speedy design of prototypes. It also demonstrates that there is much room for low-cost hardware prototype design to accelerate the processing speed of the MAC control function and for field testing