Microporous membranes and methods for producing such membranes from ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene are described. The method employs extrusion of a solution of UHMW-PE and porogen through a forming die followed by thermal phase separation of polymer and porogen. Microporous structures are created by removing porogen. Microporous membranes produced include membranes with good permeability to air and water making them particularly useful as filtration media and water-resistance breathable membranes.