In this study, combining backstepping sliding mode (BSM) and disturbance observer-based control (DOBC), a state feedback controller is designed to regulate the speed of induction motor (IM). First, a feedforward compensation method is proposed based on the rotor flux observer and BSM control to counteract the mismatched lumped disturbances. Then, a disturbance observer is established to estimate the overall effect of possible modelling inaccuracy, load disturbance and motor parameters variation in the IM model. Compared with the conventional vector controller, the proposed controller solves the problems of modelling imprecise, unknown load injection and parameter variation, and realises the speed tracking of IM with good performance. Finally, experiments are presented to verify the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed control strategy.