A hybrid fuzzy controller for speed control of switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives is presented in this paper. The developed hybrid fuzzy control law consists of a proportional integral (PI) controller at steady state, a PI type fuzzy logic controller (FLC) at transient state and a simple logic controller between the steady and transient states to achieve the desired performance at various operating conditions under soft chopping operation. The importance of the hybrid fuzzy controller is highlighted by comparing the performance of various control approaches, including PI control, PI type fuzzy logic control and PD type fuzzy control for speed control of SRM motor drives. The complete control algorithm is demonstrated by intensive experimental results. It is shown that the presented hybrid controller for SRM drive has fast tracking capability, less steady state error and is robust to load disturbance. The complete speed control scheme of the SRM drive incorporating the hybrid control is experimentally implemented and validated using a high speed digital signal processor board TMS320F2812 for a prototype 1.2kW SRM. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.