A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) receiver includes a MIMO decoder, a pre-scaling unit, a demapper, and a post-scaling unit. The MIMO decoder performs a MIMO decoding on received signals to decouple a plurality of symbols transmitted via a plurality of data streams. Both pre-demapping scaling and post-demapping scaling are performed to improve the performance of the receiver. A pre-scaling coefficient is applied to the symbols by the pre-scaling unit to generate pre-scaled symbols. The pre-scaled symbols are converted to soft bits by the demapper. The post-scaling unit then applies a post-scaling coefficient to the soft bits. The post-scaling coefficient is a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR). Cross interference is taken into account in post-demapping scaling to obtain more accurate soft bits for subsequent decoding. The present invention is applicable to both a multi-carrier system, (such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)), and a single carrier system.