Abstract: Background and Objective: Based on the different gain switching mechanisms, variable gain amplifiers can be categorized as analog controlled VGA and digital controlled programmable gain amplifier (DVGA). A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) linear-in-dB variable gain amplifier (VGA) design in TSMC 0.18 μm process was presented and a new approach was proposed in this study. Materials and Methods: The proposed circuit is composed of two trans-impedance amplifiers and trans-conductance amplifier. Flexibility was ensured to VGA control using a novel method based on active resistor implemented. VGA control is ensured by using analog voltage control (Vctr). The optimized circuit presents high gain, high bandwidth, low power consumption and low noise figure (NF). The dB-linear gain is controlled linearly by the gate voltage, resulting in a simple and robust VGA. Results: Based on the novel technique of degeneration resistor which improves the gain range, a 64.02 dB (23.37-40.65dB) continuous gain range is achieved with a single-stage structure. The simulation structure provides a maximum gain of 40.65 dB over more than 450 MHz bandwidth and less than 16.9 dB of NF. Under 1.8 V supply voltage, the current consumption of the VGA is 40 μA. The input-referred in-band noise density is 5.40 nV2/Hz and the third order intercept point measured at the input (IIP3) of 4 dBm. Conclusion: Simulations results illustrate the best gain range as well as bandwidth performance by tuning the bias gate voltage Vctr. The proposed VGA is one of the best in terms of dynamic range, number of stages and power consumption. Furthermore, it has competitive performance regarding the other parameters.