This paper reports the preparation of dodecanethiol self-assembled monolayers (C(12)SH-SAMs) on polycrystalline gold electrodes in a magnetic field. The qualities of C(12)SH-SAMs were characterized by both cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that highly dense and well-ordered SAMs could form in a relatively short time (3 h), indicating that the rate of SAMs formation increased under an external magnetic field compared with the natural self-assembly process. Moreover, the results of CV and EIS measurements also suggested that the presence of a magnetic field had influenced the qualities of the SAMs; the stronger magnetic intensity can help to obtain much denser and well-ordered SAMs. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.