In this paper, we first study analytical structure of general nonlinear Takagi-Sugeno (TS, for short) fuzzy controllers, then establish a condition for analytically determining asymptotic stability of the fuzzy control systems at the equilibrium point, and finally use the stability condition in design of the control systems that are at least locally stable. The general TS fuzzy controllers use arbitrary input fuzzy sets, any types of fuzzy logic AND, TS fuzzy rules with linear consequent and the generalized defuzzifier which contains the popular centroid defuzzifier as a special case. We have mathematically proved that the general TS fuzzy controllers are nonlinear controllers with variable gains continuously changing with controllers＇ input variables. Using Lyapunov＇s linearization method, we have established a necessary and sufficient condition for analytically determining local asymptotic stability of TS fuzzy control systems, each of which is made up of a fuzzy controller of the general class and a nonlinear plant. We show that the condition can be used in practice even when the plant model is not explicitly known. We have utilized the stability condition to design, with or without plant model, general TS fuzzy control systems that are at least locally stable. Three numerical examples are given to illustrate in detail how to use our new results. Our results offer four important practical advantages: (1) our stability condition, being a necessary and sufficient one, is the tightest possible stability condition, (2) the condition is simple and easy to use partially because it only needs the fuzzy controller structure around the equilibrium point, (3) the condition can be used for determining system local stability and designing fuzzy control systems that are stable at least around the equilibrium point even when the explicit plant models are unavailable, and (4) the condition covers a very broad range of nonlinear TS fuzzy control systems, for which a meaningful global stability condition seems impossible to establish.