Based on the deep analysis of the mathematical model of an autonomous underwater vehicle( AUV),comprehensive considerations are given to the coupling effect of AUV’s longitudinal velocity on the other degrees of freedom. In the meantime,discussions are made on the influence of residual buoyancy and restoring moment.A novel S-plane controller established on sliding mode control( SMC) is hereby proposed in this study. The strengths of traditional S-plane controller including simple structure and easily adjustable parameters are maintained in the improved design while the weakness of unsatisfactory control effect at the time of high-speed operation is also overcome. Lyapunov function is introduced to make the stability analysis of the controller before it is successfully applied to the basic motion control of AUV-X. Then the comparative experiment test is carried out between the traditional S-plane controller and the novel S-plane controller. The effectiveness and feasibility of the novel S-plane controller established on sliding mode control in the AUV basic motion control is verified by the comparative analysis of experiment results. Based on the deep analysis of the mathematical model of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), comprehensive considerations are given to the coupling effect of AUV’s longitudinal velocity on the other degrees of freedom. In the meantime, discussions are made on the influence of residual buoyancy and restoring moment. A novel S-plane controller established on sliding mode control (SMC) is hereby proposed in this study. The strengths of traditional S-plane controller including simple structure and easily adjustable parameters are maintained in the improved design while the weakness of unsatisfactory control effect at the time of high-speed operation is also overcome. Lyapunov function is introduced to make the stability analysis of the controller before it is successfully applied to the basic motion control of AUV-X. Then the comparative experiment test is carried out between the traditional S-plane controller and the novel S-plane controller. The effectiveness and feasibility of the novel S-plane controller established on sliding mode control in the AUV basic motion control is verified by the comparative analysis of experiment results.