In this article, subwavelength operating double negative compact metamaterial was designed, fabricated, and measured that can operate in a multiband microwave frequency span. The proposed metamaterial structure offers miniaturization factor compared with traditional metamaterial unit‐cells and obeys better effective medium ratio. Commercially available Computer Simulation Technology electromagnetic simulator was adopted to investigate the design of the metamaterial. The subwavelength metamaterial displays multiband response in conjunction with left handed property over the certain frequency band in the microwave regime. In addition, the effective medium parameters of the metamaterial were studied. The dimensions and scattering parameters of the proposed double negative compact metamaterial are suitable for multiband applications. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:3004–3008, 2016