The paper deals with an MR damper-based vibration reduction system with energy harvesting capability. The main part of the system creates an MR damper and a power generator based on an electromagnetic transduction mechanism, which are integrated into a stand--alone device (so called energy harvesting MR damper). The main objective of the work is to evaluate performance of the proposed vibration reduction system employed in a single DOF mechanical structure. The material outlines the design structure and characteristics of the energy harvesting MR damper, presents the vibration reduction system based on this damper and explores experimental testing of the system implemented in a single DOF mechanical structure. To demonstrate that the devised system is feasible, performance figures maps completed by experimental data are shown.