A novel electromagnetic actuator for active suspension is designed on an in-wheel motor electric vehicle in this paper. Aiming at reducing thrust ripple force and improving stability of the actuator, a method of calculating the optimum slot width and optimizing edge radian of end tooth is proposed. Firstly, a finite element model (FEM) of the actuator is modeled, and the correctness of FEM is verified through comparisons of simulation results and analytical ones, including counterelectromotive force of coil winding and force characteristic test of the actuator. Based on the FEM, the influence of slot width on electromagnetic thrust and total harmonic distortion (THD) is analyzed, and the slot width is improved. The side effect of the actuator is considered. By improving the edge radian, the fluctuation of the cogging force and thrust ripple is reduced. In addition, output efficiency and energy feed efficiency of the actuator after reducing thrust ripple are studied. The results show the minimum THD is 4.2%, which is obtained at the slot width 4.3 mm, and thrust ripple is 36.5 N. When the edge radian is 60°, the thrust ripple decreases to only 15.7 N, which is reduced by 57.0%. The maximum output efficiency and energy feedback efficiency of the actuator are 87.5% and 27.1%, respectively. Finally, according to actuator characteristic tests of two working modes, it is concluded that the maximum energy feedback efficiency is 25.6%. The input current and current frequency should be gradually increased with the increase of suspension speed under active mode, and the maximum output efficiency is 80.2%. The test results are basically consistent with the FEM analysis values, which verify the correctness of the FEM analysis.