Rotor tracking control, which can be implemented by active magnetic bearing (AMB) system with high precision, can realize many functions, such as attitude control and special surface processing. However, large-motion rotor tracking control is difficult to implemented, due to AMB's highly nonlinear characteristics. In this paper, a dual-loop neural network sliding mode control (DL-NNSMC) system of AMB is proposed for rotor radial tracking control. The complete model of the AMB system is established and the dual-loop control system is designed. A circuit model that considers the rotor motion is established and the model-based inner loop of current control is established, conjointly for dealing with the influence of rotor motion on the current response and the unknown characteristics of the power amplifier. In the outer loop, a nonlinear electromagnetic force model is applied and a wavelet neural network sliding mode control algorithm is designed for accurate position control. Two cases of rotor trajectory tracking are simulated, and the simulation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed control system for large-motion rotor tracking control and its far superior control performance in terms of precision compared with common approaches based on sliding mode control (SMC). INDEX TERMS Active magnetic bearing, rotor tracking control, control system design, AMB system modeling, sliding mode control.