In this paper, the influence of encapsulating carbonyl iron particles with various silica coatings on the properties of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) was investigated. A soft styrene-ethylene-butylene- styrene thermoplastic elastomer was used as the composite's polymer matrix. Spherical carbonyl iron powder (CIP) acted as the ferromagnetic filler. In order to improve the metal-polymer interaction, carbonyl iron particles were coated with two types of single and six types of double silica layers. The first layer was created through a TMOS or TEOS hydrolysis whereas the second one was composed of organosilanes. The mechanical properties of MREs containing 38.5 vol% of CIP were analysed under dynamic loading conditions. To investigate the magnetorheological effect in these composites, a 430. mT magnetic field, generated by an array of permanent magnets, was applied during testing. The results revealed that the magnetomechanical response of the MREs differs substantially, depending on the kind of particle coating.