A statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Conrad Murray, 56, is charged with causing Jackson's death last year.
The charge sheet alleges that Dr Murray 'did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson'.
Dr Murray has pleaded not guilty to the charges at a court hearing tonight.
Under California law, involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to four years in prison.
Dr Murray has been a focus of investigations for months, since the coroner's office ruled that Mr Jackson's death in Los Angeles on 25 June was a homicide by drug overdose.
The anaesthetic propofol and the sedative lorazepam were found in Mr Jackson's system.
The doctor has insisted he did nothing wrong and has told investigators he was not the first doctor to give Mr Jackson propofol.
Mr Jackson hired Dr Murray to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances in London.
