Structural optimization has been carried out in continuous or discrete design space. Methods for continuous design have been well developed though they are finding the local optima. On the contrary, the existing methods for discrete design are extremely expensive in computational cost or not robust. In this research, an algorithm using tabu search is developed fur the discrete structural designs. The tabu list and the neighbor function of the Tabu concepts are introduced to the algorithm. It defines the number of steps, the maximum number for random searches and the stop criteria. A tabu search is known as the heuristic approach while genetic algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm are attributed to the stochastic approach. It is shown that an algorithm using the tabu search with random moves has an advantage of discrete design. Furthermore, the suggested method finds the reliable optimum for the discrete design problems. The existing tabu search methods are reviewed. Subsequently, the suggested method is explained. The mathematical problems and structural design problems are investigated to show the validity of the proposed method. The results of the structural designs are compared with those from a genetic algorithm and an orthogonal array design.