This paper introduces a novel neuro-fuzzy system based on the polynomial fuzzy neural network(PFNN) architecture. The PFNN consists of a set of if-then rules with appropriate membership functions whose parameters are optimized via a hybrid genetic algorithm. A polynomial neural network is employed in the defuzzification scheme to improve output performance and to select appropriate rules. A performance criterion for model selection, based on the Group Method of DAta Handling is defined to overcome the overfitting problem in the modeling procedure. The hybrid genetic optimization method, which combines a genetic algorithm and the Simplex method, is developed to increase performance even if the length of a chromosome is reduced. A novel coding scheme is presented to describe fuzzy systems for a dynamic search rang in th GA. For a performance assessment of the PFNN inference system, three well-known problems are used for comparison with other methods. The results of these comparisons show that the PFNN inference system outperforms the other methods while it exhibits exceptional robustness characteristics.