Using a highly sensitive silicon Hall sensor fabricated in a standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, we detect a single magnetic microbead of 2.8 μm in diameter. The miniaturized sensor has an active area of 2.4×2.4 μm 2, a sensitivity of 175 V/AT and a resistance of 8.5 k. Two detection methods, both exploiting the superparamagnetic behavior of the bead, are experimentally tested and their performances are compared. This work opens the way to the fabrication of low cost microsystems for biochemical applications based on the use of dense arrays of silicon Hall sensors and CMOS electronics. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.