PurposeThis study aims to design and implement a novel tilt integral sliding mode controller and observer for sensorless speed control of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM).Design/methodology/approachA control strategy combining the tilt integral derivative (TID) with sliding mode control (SMC) is proposed to determine the tilt integral sliding mode manifold. Using this manifold, tilt integral sliding mode controller (TISMC) and observer (TISMO) are designed. The stabilities are verified by using Lyapunov method. To prove the effectiveness and robustness of proposed methods, sensorless speed control of PMSM is performed for various operating conditions such as constant and variable speed references, load disturbance injection, parameter perturbation, whereas sensor noises are not taken into account. The performance of proposed method is compared with TID controller, proportional integral derivative controller and conventional SMO.FindingsSimulation results demonstrate that TISMC and TISMO have better performance in all operating conditions. They are robust against parameter uncertainties and disturbances. TISM based sensorless control of PMSM is well guaranteed with superior performance.Originality/valueThe proposed method has not been tackled in the literature. By combining TID and SMC, novel tilt integral sliding manifold is presented and used in designing of the controller and observer. It is proven by Lyapunov method that errors converge to zero.