This paper presents an approach to H ~ control of a class of continuous-time nonlinear systems which can be represented by a fuzzy dynamic model. A suitable piecewise differentiable quadratic Lyapunov function is used to establish asymptotic stability and H ~ performance of the closed-loop fuzzy control system. A constructive algorithm is developed to obtain the H ~ feedback control law, which involves solving a set of suitable algebraic Riccati equations. An example is given to illustrate the application of the method.