Abstract-A robust tracking controller based on switch control law is proposed for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to achieve missions which require precise tracking of predetermined path. Target vehicles are non-cruising AUVs, which have no control surfaces and are controlled directly by thrusters placed in suitable directions. Since AUV hydrodynamics and actuator dynamics are nonlinear, and sensor outputs are disturbed by noise, classical control based on linear theory is not sufficient and a variable structure controller is proposed. By switching off control action before high order dynamics are excited, the proposed non-linear, robust controller with switched control law is globally asymptotically stable. Controller design can be done with only rudimental knowledge of the dynamics of the system, without the need of accurate parameter identification. Output error feedback is switched on and off by refering to the measurement output and its derivatives. Furthermore the controller is noise driven, i. e. a suitable dose of noise improves dynamic response. Although identification model is not necessary for the design, performance can be further improved by including such model as feed forward controller. The method to tune the performance of the controller is to increase the feedback gain. The controller is applied to the non-cruising AUV 'Twin-Burger' of the University of Tokyo and experiments are carried out to verify the performance of the controller.