Abstract: The traditional method of autopilot design is piecewise linearization based gain scheduling approach. Recently, Variant control strategies based on feedback lin earization have been widely studied. In this paper, a new kind of control strate gy for design of autopilot with nonlinear feedback based on backstepping techniq ue is presented. According to this method, the input uncertainties are taken int o account by involving both nonlinear optimization to guarantee the accuracy of the mapping from actuator to moment and adaptive term to compensate the moment's bias. Finally, the autopilot of reentry vehicle is designed with this method. The simulation results show that the method of adaptive backstepping proposed in this paper is efficient. The design process is simpler than others and easy for implement.