Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is well suited to be applied to a wide range of topics encountered in a magnetic recording environment. Imaging and characterization of magnetic recording components s~ch as write heads, MR heads and transitions written on various media are reviewed in this article. MFM can also be used to intentionally create (i.e. write) magnetic structures. Contributions of MFM to the understanding of magnetic reversal and switching phenomena of small particles are summarized.