An induction spindle motor drive using synchronous pulse-width modulation (PWM) and, dead-time compensatory techniques with an adaptive fuzzy-neural-network controller (AFNNC) is proposed in this study for advanced spindle motor applications. First, the operating principles of a new synchronous PWM technique and the circuit of,dead-time compensator are described in detail. Then, since the control characteristics and motor parameters for high-speed-operated induction spindle motor drive are time varying, an AFNNC is proposed to control the rotor speed of the induction spindle motor. In the proposed controller, the induction spindle motor-drive system is identified by a fuzzy-neural-network identifier (FNNI) to provide the sensitivity information of the drive system to an adaptive controller. The backpropagation algorithm is used to train the FNNI online. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed induction spindle motor-drive system is demonstrated using some simulated and experimental results.