To achieve the demanding of the high data transmission and meet large dynamic range under wideband conditions, a wide-band complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) variable gain amplifier with dB-linear characteristic is presented. The variable gain amplifier uses a three-stage gain unit cascade structure. To achieve wide bandwidth and increase dynamic range effectively, a modified Cherry-Hooper amplifier gain cell is used, finally the bandwidth is above 1 GHz. With a tunable transistor, a dB-linear characteristic is achieved without any additional exponential circuit to solve the problem that the square-law device operating in the saturation region of the CMOS device in the CMOS circuit. Meanwhile, a high-pass filter with a low cutoff frequency further broaden the bandwidth. The layout’s post-simulation results show that the variable gain amplifier achieves a ultra gain range of -33.4~46.9 dB with dB-linear characteristic, the 3-dB bandwidth is 1.89 GHz which is from 0.12 MHz to 1.9 GHz, and the area is only 0.006 mm². All indicators in variable gain amplifier are suitable for the 5G wide-band wireless communication system totally.