The current paper presents a new control strategy known as active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) for controlling the sense axis of a vibrational microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope and detecting time-varying rotation rates. In the ADRC framework, the generalized disturbance, which is referred to as the combination of the internal dynamics and external disturbances, is estimated and compensated for in real time. It is assumed that the drive axis outputs an ideal sinusoidal signal. A force-to-rebalance mode of operation is applied to the sense axis of the gyroscope. Under this mode, the output of the sense axis is continuously monitored and driven to zero by ADRC and the rotation rate is estimated by employing the demodulation technique. Simulation results and performance analysis demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the ADRC against parameter variations and noises. © IMechE 2008.