Magnetic bearing is an attractive device in precision engineering field because of its non-contacting nature and controllability of its dynamic characteristics. This paper provides a method of designing a sliding mode control for an active magnetic hearing(AMB) system which is used to support the elevation axis of a target tracking sight instead of mechanical bearings to eliminate the effect of mechanical friction. In such system, the axis should be levitated and supported within a predetermined air gap while AMB is excited by base motion. Experimental results showed that the sliding mode control is effective in disturbance rejection than conventional PID-control without any additive measurements.