Using the homogenization method we obtain a model describing the behavior of the suspension of solid magnetizable particles in a viscous non-conducting fluid in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field. We use the quasi-static Maxwell equations coupled with the Stokes equations to capture the magnetorheological (MR) effect. The model generalizes the one introduced by Neuringer and Rosensweig [14], for quasistatic phenomena. The macroscopic constitutive properties are given explicitly in terms of the solutions of the local problems. We determine the homogenized constitutive parameters for an aqueous MR fluid with magnetite particles using the finite element method. The Poiseuille flow, for the solution of our homogenized coupled system, approaches the Bingham flow profile for large values of the magnetic field. The stress–strain curves obtained for the Couette flow exhibit a yield stress close to the one determined experimentally.