A liquid-cooled eddy current retarder (ECR) with a dual salient poles design is proposed in this paper. Finite element models were developed to perform transient magnetic analysis and steady-state conjugate heat transfer analysis. The braking torque, eddy current field and thermal field of the retarder were each predicted. The retarder was subjected to two sets of tests on a test bench, to obtain the braking torque at various rotational speeds, while utilizing two different magnetomotive forces, respectively, and the torque was also tested while maintaining a constant rotational speed, for a specific amount of time. The good agreement shown between the calculations and measured data of the braking torque served to validate the analysis method. The experiments also showed that the braking torque of the retarder decreased more slowly than the braking torque of conventional ECRs in continuous operation.