Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells are regarded as an alternative power source for automotive and portable applications. Due to sensitivity of fuel cell to model parameters and nonlinear nature of the governing equations, proper control of the generated power is essential. In this paper, a nonlinear one-dimensional along-the-channel dynamic model has been considered for modeling and simulation of power generation in a PEM fuel cell. The rigorous proposed model is based on conservation laws and electrochemical and auxiliary equations. To get the best performance and the highest power density of the cell, the operating parameters have been optimized under steady state condition using differential evolution (DE) algorithm. Based on the proposed model and optimized parameters, an appropriate fuzzy controller is suggested. The fuzzy control algorithm is applied to the process and the results are compared with those of a conventional PI control. The results indicate that a faster response of the average power density can be obtained using the fuzzy controller in a servo problem. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.