In this article, the sliding mode control (SMC) of fractional nonlinear systems (FNSs) with disturbances is studied. First, a useful fractional power‐rate inequality for is extended to a more general form . Based on the generalized inequality, the method of a modified fractional integral SMC is completed, in which the parameter of the symbolic function is extended to and . This increases the degree of freedom of the sliding mode surface (SMS). Then, the SMC of FNSs is studied for the cases of known and unknown disturbances. In the case of known disturbance, it is proved by the generalized inequality and quadratic Lyapunov function method that the state of the FNSs can converge asymptotically to zero on the SMS. For the case of unknown disturbance, a fractional disturbance observer is used to estimate the disturbance by introducing auxiliary variables . The disturbance estimation error of the proposed FNSs is proved to be bounded. An equivalent global control law is obtained and asymptotic convergence of the FNSs under the action of the controller is proved. Finally, two numerical simulation examples are given to verify the feasibility of the method proposed in this article.