<PAGE>   1
        As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2000
                                                   Registration No. 333-________
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                              --------------------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                              --------------------

                            MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


               DELAWARE                                   94-2910085
       (State of Incorporation)                        (I.R.S. Employer
                                                      Identification No.)


                              2092 Concourse Drive
                           San Jose, California 95131
          (Address of Principal Executive Offices, including Zip Code)
                    ----------------------------------------

                            1994 DIRECTOR OPTION PLAN
                            (Full title of the plans)
                              --------------------

                                 David Gellatly
                      President and Chief Executive Officer
                            MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION
                              2092 Concourse Drive
                           San Jose, California 95131
                                 (408) 433-5200
            (Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)
                              --------------------

                                    Copy to:
                              J. Robert Suffoletta
                     WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI, P.C.
                               650 Page Mill Road
                        Palo Alto, California 94304-1050
                              --------------------

================================================================================
<PAGE>   2


                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
========================================================================================================
                                                         Proposed
                                                          Maximum
                                                         Offering      Proposed Maximum      Amount of
       Title of Securities to          Amount to be      Price Per         Aggregate        Registration
           be Registered                Registered       Shares(1)     Offering Price(1)        Fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                   <C>               <C>            <C>                  <C>
Common Stock, $0.001 par value, to      500,000         $3.96875       $1,984,375           $524.00
be issued under the 1994 Director
Option Plan
                              TOTAL:    500,000                        $1,984,375           $524.00
========================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)     The Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share was estimated pursuant to
        Rule 457 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
        Act"). The price per share was determined by reference to the average
        between the high and low price of the Common Stock as reported in the
        Nasdaq National Market on November 8, 2000.


<PAGE>   3



                       REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8

                                     PART II

                 INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

        The following documents and information previously filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by Micro Linear
Corporation (the "Company") are hereby incorporated by reference in this
Registration Statement:

        (a) The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1999 filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").

        (b) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended
March 31, 2000, June 30, 2000 and September 30, 2000 filed pursuant to Section
13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

        (c) The description of the Company's common stock which is contained in
the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Commission
pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and any description of any
securities of the Registrant which is contained in any registration statement
filed after the date hereof under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, including any
amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating any such description.

        (d) The description of the Company's preferred share purchase rights
which is contained in the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed
with the Commission pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and any
description of any securities of the Registrant which is contained in any
registration statement filed after the date hereof under Section 12 of the
Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of
updating any such description.

        All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities registered have
been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be
deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be
part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

Not applicable.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

        The Company's Certificate of Incorporation limits the liability of
directors to the maximum extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides
that directors of a company will not be personally liable for monetary damages
for breach of their fiduciary duties as directors, except for liability (i) for
any breach of their duty of loyalty to the company or its stockholders, (ii) for
acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or
knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payments or dividends or unlawful
stock repurchases or redemptions as provided Section 174 of Delaware General
Corporation Law or (iv) for transactions from which the director derived an
improper personal benefit.


                                      II-3
<PAGE>   4


        The Company's Bylaws provide that the Company shall indemnify its
officers and directors and may indemnify its employees and other agents to the
fullest extent provided by Delaware law, including those circumstances where
indemnification would otherwise be discretionary under Delaware law. The Company
believes that indemnification under its Bylaws covers at least negligence on the
part of indemnified parties. The Bylaws authorize the use of indemnification
agreements and the Company has entered into such agreements with each of its
directors and officers.

        The Company carries officer and director liability insurance with
respect to certain matters, including matters arising under the Securities Act.

        Delaware Law does not permit a corporation to eliminate a director's
duty of care, and the provisions of the Company's Certificate of Incorporation
have no effect on the availability of equitable remedies such as injunction or
rescission, based upon a director's breach of the duty of care. Insofar as
indemnification for liabilities arising under the Exchange Act may be permitted
to foregoing provisions and agreements, the Company has been informed that in
the opinion of the staff of the Commission such indemnification is against
public policy as expressed in the Exchange Act and is therefore unenforceable.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
      Exhibit
       Number                        Description
      -------        -------------------------------------------------
<S>                  <C>
        4.1          1994 Director Option Plan, as amended.

        5.1          Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

       23.1          Consent of Independent Accountants.

       23.3          Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

       24.1          Power of Attorney (see page II-6).
</TABLE>

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

        (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such
information in the Registration Statement.

        (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

        (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
the offering.



                                      II-4
<PAGE>   5


        (4) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

        (5) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Exchange Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Exchange Act
and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.



                                      II-5
<PAGE>   6



                                   SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California, on this 18th day
of September, 2000.

                             MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION


                             By: /s/ David Gellatly
                                 ----------------------------------------
                                 David Gellatly
                                 President and Chief Executive Officer


                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

        KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below hereby constitutes and appoints David Gellatly and Michael
Schradle, and each of them acting individually, as his or her attorney-in-fact,
each with full power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities,
to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement on Form S-8, and
to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or any substitute, may do or
cause to be done by virtue hereof.

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed on September 18, 2000 by the following
persons in the capacities indicated:


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
             Signature                                 Title
             ---------                                 -----
<S>                                   <C>
/s/ David Gellatly                    Director, Chief Executive Officer and
-------------------------------       President (Principal Executive Officer)
David Gellatly


/s/ Michael Schradle                  Chief Financial Officer (Principal
-------------------------------       Financial and Accounting Officer)
Michael Schradle


/s/ Joseph D. Rizzi                   Director
-------------------------------
Joseph D. Rizzi


/s/ James J. Harrison                 Director
-------------------------------
James J. Harrison


/s/ Timothy R. Richardson             Director
-------------------------------
Timothy R. Richardson


/s/ William B. Pohlman                Director
-------------------------------
William B. Pohlman
</TABLE>



                                      II-6
<PAGE>   7


                            MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION
                       REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8
                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
      Exhibit
       Number                        Description
      -------        -------------------------------------------------
<S>                  <C>
        4.1          1994 Director Option Plan, as amended.

        5.1          Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

       23.1          Consent of Independent Accountants.

       23.3          Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

       24.1          Power of Attorney (see page II-6).
</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "filename": "f65619s-8.txt", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 15080}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "MICRO LINEAR CORP /CA/", "cik": "0000875359", "assigned-sic": "3674", "irs-number": "942910085", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-49634", "film-number": "757401"}, "business-address": {"street1": "2092 CONCOURSE DRIVE", "city": "SAN JOSE", "state": "CA", "zip": "95131", "phone": "4084335200"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "2092 CONCOURSE DR", "city": "SAN JOSE", "state": "CA", "zip": "95131"}}
1
        As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2000
                                                   Registration No. 333-________
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                              --------------------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                              --------------------

                            MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

               DELAWARE                                   94-2910085
       (State of Incorporation)                        (I.R.S. Employer
                                                      Identification No.)

                              2092 Concourse Drive
                           San Jose, California 95131
          (Address of Principal Executive Offices, including Zip Code)
                    ----------------------------------------

                            1994 DIRECTOR OPTION PLAN
                            (Full title of the plans)
                              --------------------

                                 David Gellatly
                      President and Chief Executive Officer
                            MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION
                              2092 Concourse Drive
                           San Jose, California 95131
                                 (408) 433-5200
            (Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)
                              --------------------

                                    Copy to:
                              J. Robert Suffoletta
                     WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI, P.C.
                               650 Page Mill Road
                        Palo Alto, California 94304-1050
                              --------------------

================================================================================
2

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
========================================================================================================
                                                         Proposed
                                                          Maximum
                                                         Offering      Proposed Maximum      Amount of
       Title of Securities to          Amount to be      Price Per         Aggregate        Registration
           be Registered                Registered       Shares(1)     Offering Price(1)        Fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, $0.001 par value, to      500,000         $3.96875       $1,984,375           $524.00
be issued under the 1994 Director
Option Plan
                              TOTAL:    500,000                        $1,984,375           $524.00
========================================================================================================
(1)     The Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share was estimated pursuant to
        Rule 457 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
        Act"). The price per share was determined by reference to the average
        between the high and low price of the Common Stock as reported in the
        Nasdaq National Market on November 8, 2000.
3

                       REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8

                                     PART II

                 INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

        The following documents and information previously filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by Micro Linear
Corporation (the "Company") are hereby incorporated by reference in this
Registration Statement:

        (a) The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1999 filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").

        (b) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended
March 31, 2000, June 30, 2000 and September 30, 2000 filed pursuant to Section
13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

        (c) The description of the Company's common stock which is contained in
the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Commission
pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and any description of any
securities of the Registrant which is contained in any registration statement
filed after the date hereof under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, including any
amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating any such description.

        (d) The description of the Company's preferred share purchase rights
which is contained in the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed
with the Commission pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and any
description of any securities of the Registrant which is contained in any
registration statement filed after the date hereof under Section 12 of the
Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of
updating any such description.

        All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities registered have
been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be
deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be
part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

Not applicable.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

        The Company's Certificate of Incorporation limits the liability of
directors to the maximum extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides
that directors of a company will not be personally liable for monetary damages
for breach of their fiduciary duties as directors, except for liability (i) for
any breach of their duty of loyalty to the company or its stockholders, (ii) for
acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or
knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payments or dividends or unlawful
stock repurchases or redemptions as provided Section 174 of Delaware General
Corporation Law or (iv) for transactions from which the director derived an
improper personal benefit.

                                      II-3
4

        The Company's Bylaws provide that the Company shall indemnify its
officers and directors and may indemnify its employees and other agents to the
fullest extent provided by Delaware law, including those circumstances where
indemnification would otherwise be discretionary under Delaware law. The Company
believes that indemnification under its Bylaws covers at least negligence on the
part of indemnified parties. The Bylaws authorize the use of indemnification
agreements and the Company has entered into such agreements with each of its
directors and officers.

        The Company carries officer and director liability insurance with
respect to certain matters, including matters arising under the Securities Act.

        Delaware Law does not permit a corporation to eliminate a director's
duty of care, and the provisions of the Company's Certificate of Incorporation
have no effect on the availability of equitable remedies such as injunction or
rescission, based upon a director's breach of the duty of care. Insofar as
indemnification for liabilities arising under the Exchange Act may be permitted
to foregoing provisions and agreements, the Company has been informed that in
the opinion of the staff of the Commission such indemnification is against
public policy as expressed in the Exchange Act and is therefore unenforceable.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.
Exhibit
       Number                        Description
      -------        -------------------------------------------------
4.1          1994 Director Option Plan, as amended.

        5.1          Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

       23.1          Consent of Independent Accountants.

       23.3          Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

       24.1          Power of Attorney (see page II-6).
ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

        (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such
information in the Registration Statement.

        (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

        (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
the offering.

                                      II-4
5

        (4) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

        (5) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Exchange Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Exchange Act
and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      II-5
6

                                   SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California, on this 18th day
of September, 2000.

                             MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION

                             By: /s/ David Gellatly
                                 ----------------------------------------
                                 David Gellatly
                                 President and Chief Executive Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

        KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below hereby constitutes and appoints David Gellatly and Michael
Schradle, and each of them acting individually, as his or her attorney-in-fact,
each with full power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities,
to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement on Form S-8, and
to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or any substitute, may do or
cause to be done by virtue hereof.

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed on September 18, 2000 by the following
persons in the capacities indicated:
Signature                                 Title
             ---------                                 -----
/s/ David Gellatly                    Director, Chief Executive Officer and
-------------------------------       President (Principal Executive Officer)
David Gellatly

/s/ Michael Schradle                  Chief Financial Officer (Principal
-------------------------------       Financial and Accounting Officer)
Michael Schradle

/s/ Joseph D. Rizzi                   Director
-------------------------------
Joseph D. Rizzi

/s/ James J. Harrison                 Director
-------------------------------
James J. Harrison

/s/ Timothy R. Richardson             Director
-------------------------------
Timothy R. Richardson

/s/ William B. Pohlman                Director
-------------------------------
William B. Pohlman
II-6
7

                            MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION
                       REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8
                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit
       Number                        Description
      -------        -------------------------------------------------
4.1          1994 Director Option Plan, as amended.

        5.1          Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

       23.1          Consent of Independent Accountants.

       23.3          Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

       24.1          Power of Attorney (see page II-6).