In this paper, we present a novel design for compact triple-band planar monopole antenna by integrating with a single metamaterial unit. The single metamaterial unit (single loop ring resonator which can exhibit three resonances) is set as part of radiation patch. The whole antenna structure including the metamaterial inspired patch and optimized ground plane contribute to an eight-like radiation pattern due to the monopole antenna configuration. Such antenna is first numerical analyzed and optimized by finite element method based simulator (An- soft HFSS V14), and then the fabricated antenna sample are measured within a commercial near field measurement system (Satimo SG 32). Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the designed antenna exhibits three distinct operating frequencies and the eight-like radi- ation patterns at such three frequency bands are all obtained. At the same time, a compared conventional monopole antenna with the same dimensional sizes is also analyzed. Results show that the metamaterial inspired antenna has more compact size. The proposed novel antenna can be flexibly used for modern wireless communications including both stationary and portable terminal areas.