The analysis of noise attenuation in dead-time compensators (DTCs) for unstable processes is presented in this paper. The Filtered Smith Predictor, that is a DTC which can be used to control stable and unstable dead-time processes, is used for this study. A new filter design procedure is proposed in order to include noise attenuation specifications. By using this procedure, it is possible to obtain better results than other solutions in literature. A simulation example is used to compare the proposed approach with a recently published results and an experimental case of study is used to illustrate its usefulness. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.