This paper presents hysteresis models of damping forces of a magneto-rheological (MR) damper which is applicable to a middle-sized passenger vehicle. After manufacturing a cylindrical type of the MR damper, its field-dependant damping force and hysteresis behavior are experimentally evaluated. Three different models ; Bingham model, Bouc-Wen model and Polynomial model are provided to predict the hysteretic damping force. The damping force characteristics predicted from three different models are compared with the measured results under various excitation conditions.