If the rf and dc magnetic fields are parallel, the absorption coefficient &mgr;″ at low power levels is theoretically expected (for YIG at room temperature, a frequency of 10 Gc/sec, and a dc field of 1 kOe) to be of the order of 2×10−4. We have calculated how the steady‐state absorption varies with dc and rf field strength below the instability threshold. Experiments on a high‐purity YIG single crystal are in reasonably good agreement with the theoretical expectations.