The use of the shape memory alloy, Nitinol wire, is investigated as an actuator for enhancing the damping in structural vibration systems. The first-order mathematical model of the Nitinol wire is obtained from the experimental data for an actuator. Finite element method is utilized for the strain gage sensor model, which is installed at the root of cantilever beam. A simple system, cantilever beam, is built as a flexible structural system to implement a control law with the Nitinol wire actuator. The system model including sensor and actuator is derived, which agrees with the experimental results. The actuator dynamics is augmented with the system so as to design PI controller and the one of robust controllers, LQG/LTR controller, and the control laws are implemented experimentally. The experimental study shows the feasibility of utilizing the Nitinol wire as an actuator for the purpose of vibration control.