A detailed study on the influence of an external magnetic field on a symmetrical gyrotropic slab in terms of Goos-Hanchen (GH) phase shifts is presented. The GH phase shifts at both boundaries of the slab are calculated, and the guidance condition is explained by means of them. It is found that the external magnetic field destroys the spatial symmetry of the field distribution, and we use the concepts of ‘penetration’ distance as well as effective thickness to illustrate the phenomenon. In term of the GH phase shifts, the spatial distribution of the time-average Poynting power is also derived. We find that influenced by the external magnetic field, the positive and negative time-average Poynting power along the waveguide direction can exist simultaneously in the gyrotropic medium, depending on the transverse position. † Also with Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139, USA