AbstractThis paper is concerned with the absolute stability problem of networked control systems (NCSs) with the controlled plant being Lurie systems (Lurie NCSs), in which the network‐induced delays are assumed to be time‐varying and bounded. First, in consideration of both the time‐varying network‐induced delays and data packet dropouts, the Lurie NCSs can be modeled as a multiple‐delays Lurie system. Then, a delay‐dependent absolute stability condition is established by using the Lyapunov–Krasovskii method. Next, two approaches to controller design are proposed in the terms of simple algebra criteria, which are easily solved via the toolbox in Matlab. Furthermore, the main results can be extended to robust absolute stability of Lurie NCSs with the structured uncertainties, where robust absolute stability conditions and approaches to robust controller design are presented. Finally, two numerical examples are worked out to illustrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.