Ocean bottom electromagnetic receivers (OBEMs) are mainly used for high-precision observation and measurement of magnetotelluric signals and controlled-source electromagnetic signals at the sea bottom. To overcome the shortcomings of large volume, high power consumption, and high cost of the existing OBEMs (OBEM-Ⅲ type), this study conducted technical research regarding miniaturization, low power consumption, and low cost. As a result, the overall power consumption of the existing OBEMs (OBEM-Ⅲ type) has been reduced from 1 600 mW to 500 mW or less (by equipment of inductive magnetic sensors) due to the development of a low-power control unit and preamplifier, the installation of low-power fluxgate sensors, and adoption of advanced power management technology. Traditional acoustic releasers are expensive and bulky and require more suitable buoyant materials. By integrating the underwater acoustic communication module and being equipped with the external erosion wearing release device, the MicrOBEMs make release and recovery possible using only a 17-inch glass sphere, thus greatly reducing the volume and hardware cost of the instrument and improving the integration and operation efficiency of devices. Compared to the OBEM-Ⅲ type, the volume, power consumption, and cost of the newly developed MicrOBEMs are reduced by 3/4, 2/3, and 1/2, respectively. A deep-water geomagnetic test was conducted in March 2021 in the southern South China Sea, preliminarily verifying the geomagnetic measurement function of the MicrOBEMs and reflecting that the MicrOBEMs have the advantages of small size, low power consumption, and low cost.