The imperfect sinusoidal flux distribution, cogging torque, and current measurement errors can cause periodic torque ripple in the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). These ripples are reflected in the periodic oscillation of the motor speed and torque, causing vibration at low speeds and noise at high speeds. As a high-precision tracking application, ripple degrades the application performance of PMSM. In this paper, an adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) scheme is proposed to reduce the periodic torque ripples. An optimal controller is designed by iterative control algorithm using robust adaptive dynamic programming theory and strategic iterative technique. ADP is combined with the existing Proportional-Integral (PI) current controller and generates compensated reference current iteratively from cycle to cycle so as to minimize the mean square torque error. As a result, an optimization problem is constructed and an optimal controller is obtained. The simulation results show that the robust adaptive dynamic programming achieves lower torque ripple and shorter dynamic adjustment time during steady-state operation, thus meeting the requirements of steady speed state and the dynamic performance of the regulation system.