AbstractA design method is proposed for low‐gain internal model control (IMC) proportional‐integral‐derivative (PID) controllers based on the second‐order filter. The PID parameters are obtained by approximating the feedback form of the IMC controller with a Maclaurin series, in which the second‐order filter is applied using the IMC approach to achieve a low‐gain PID controller that is suitable for model mismatch problems. Analytical PID tuning rules based on the second‐order filter are derived for several common‐use process models. The second‐order filter is designed from the desired time domain performances of maximum overshoot and settling time. Furthermore, the robustness of the IMC PID controller based on the second‐order filter is analyzed, and results show that its robustness performance is better than the first‐order filter under certain conditions. Finally, three categories of models divided by the ration of time constant and time delay are presented in the comparative numerical simulations to validate the effectiveness and generality of the proposed PID controller design method.