Implementation of tilt integral derivative (TID) controller for controlling the speed of a D.C. Motor using meta heuristic nature inspired algorithm named by firefly algorithm (FA) is proposed in this paper. By using FA based optimization technique, we have tuned TID controller parameters. Further, comparative analysis has been done with FA based conventional PID and fractional order PID (FOPID) controllers. The performance of TID is investigated in terms of various performance indices like integral of square error (ISE), integral of time-weighted absolute error (ITAE), integral of absolute error (IAE) and integral of time-weighted square error (ITSE). Investigation carried out reveals the advantage of TID over conventional PID and FOPID in terms of reduced settling time and performance indices.