Abstract During the process of improving unconventional oil and gas reservoirs using electric pulse stimulation, to achieve optimal effects in terms of rock matrix pore dilation and fracturing, it is required that the electric pulse frequency is close to the inherent frequency of the reservoir. In the context of research focused on open-loop control for the discharge frequency of a high-pressure pulse device, the topological structure and mathematical model of the high-pressure pulse discharge device have been established. The analysis of current variations during the discharge process has been conducted. A closed-loop control strategy based on the super-helix sliding mode control has been proposed, along with the introduction of a nonlinear extended state observer. This strategy aims to achieve closed-loop control of the discharge frequency, and its effectiveness and control performance have been verified through simulation.