Stringent emission regulations and increasing demands on reductions of noise and vibration of common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engines lead to the advent of piezo-actuated injectors. Compared with solenoid-actuated injectors, piezo-actuated injectors generate greater force and give faster response time, resulting in more accurate and faster injections. The accurate and fast response of an injector can offer an opportunity to control the combustion process and pollutant formation. In this study, the mathematical model of a piezo-actuated injector is developed. An estimator of the injection rate of the piezo-actuated injector is designed based on this model. The sliding mode theory is applied to the estimator design in order to overcome model uncertainties. The injector model and the estimator are verified by the injection experiments in an injector test bench. The simulation and the experimental results show that the proposed sliding mode observer can effectively estimate the injection timing and the injection rate of the piezo-actuated injector.