In this paper, novel active matched filter synthesis and design for UWB impulse radio lower band (3–5 GHz) is presented. Based on tapped delay line structure, the matched filter delays and sums UWB signal coherently to improve output signal to noise ratio (SNR). A four stages matched filter with a full cycle delay at centre frequency (4 GHz) is proposed. It has a measured power gain of 13.9 dB and a noise figure of 4.1 dB at 4 GHz. To reduce the amount of phase delay, a novel half cycle delay matched filter is then introduced. It achieves a measured power gain of 15.2 dB and a noise figure of 4.4 dB at 4 GHz. SNR improvement is verified through Monte Carlo simulations for both designs.