For precisely regulating the speed of a permanent magnet synchronous motor system with unknown load torque disturbance and disturbance inputs, an LMI-based sliding mode control scheme is proposed in this paper. After a brief review of the PMSM mathematical model, the sliding mode control law is designed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). By adding an extended observer which estimates the unknown load torque, the proposed speed tracking controller can guarantee a good control performance. The stability of the proposed control system is proven through the reachability condition and an approximate method to implement the chattering reduction is also presented. The proposed control algorithm is implemented by using a digital signal processor (DSP) TMS320F28335. The simulation and experimental results verify that the proposed methodology achieves a more robust performance and a faster dynamic response than the conventional linear PI control method in the presence of PMSM parameter uncertainties and unknown external noises.