In this paper, a maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) control strategy for direct-torque-controlled interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) drives is proposed. For current-controlled IPMSM drives, many methods have been proposed, in which the periodic signals are injected into reference current vectors. On the other hand, the direct-torque-controlled IPMSM drives require the torque and stator flux linkage magnitude as their references. The proposed method injects signals into the reference flux in a manner similar to that used for the signal injections in current-controlled IPMSM drives. The main feature of the proposed method is the ability to search the optimal current directly and successively using a local search algorithm. Therefore, variations in the parameters can be considered. The simulation and experimental results validate the proposed method.