An SDIO card development supporting system for development of SDIO cards, an SDIO controller reference board, and a method for running the system are disclosed. The SDIO card development supporting system includes: (a) a hardware component comprising: (i) a platform equipped with an operating system and a memory operably connected to the operating system; (ii) an SD host board including an SDIO host device; and (iii) an SD bus operably connecting the operating system of the platform to the SD host board; and (b) a software component stored in the memory of the platform, wherein the software component comprises an SDIO test program that runs on the operating system of the platform.