SUMMARYIn this paper, an adaptive neural network (NN) backstepping technique is developed for tracking control of a class of nonlinear systems. NNs are used to compensate for the unknown nonlinear functions in the system. A systematic backstepping approach is established to synthesize the adaptive NN control scheme that ensures the boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop system, and yields a small tracking error. The issue of transient performance is also addressed under an analytical framework. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by computer simulations.