For compensating the error motion of hydrostatic guideways, we introduce a way that the clearance of table is actively controlled corresponding to the amount of error with the variable capillary. The structure and the theoretical design method of active controlled capillary using piezo actuator, named ACC, are proposed in this paper. Basic characteristics such as the maximum controllable range, micro step response and available dynamic bandwidth are tested for confirmation of structural suitability of ACC, and these characteristics are also tested on the table mounted with ACC for verifying the availability. The experimental result showed that by the use of ACC, the error motion within 2.7 .mu. m of a hydrostatic guideway can be compensated with the resolution of 2.7nm, 1/100 contollable range, and the frequency bandwidth of 5.5 Hz. From these results, it is confirmed that the ACC is very effective to improve the motion accuracy of high or ultra precision hydrostatic guideways.