An adaptive proportional-plus-integral control system for controlling a robot or a machine tool which is subject to large load variation. The PI control system comprises a speed control loop and a pre-compensator provided in the speed control loop. The pre-compensator is equivalent to a system which is the combination of a reference model and an inverse system of a servomotor, and has adaptivity. Since the pre-compensator is incorporated into the speed control loop, robust control can be made even if the inertia of a load is largely variable.