This paper presents an intelligent approach to optimize the performances of photovoltaic systems. The system consists of a PV panel, a DC-DC boost converter, a maximum power point tracker controller and a resistive load. The key idea of the proposed approach is the use of a fuzzy controller with an adaptive gain as a maximum power point tracker. The proposed controller integrates two different rule bases. The first is used to adjust the duty cycle of the boost converter as in the case of a conventional fuzzy controller while the second rule base is designed for an online adjusting of the controller's gain. The performances of the adaptive fuzzy controller are compared with those obtained using a conventional fuzzy controllers with different gains and in each case, the proposed controller outperforms its conventional counterpart. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.