A novel direct-drive rotary-linear switched reluctance motor (RLSRM) is proposed. The motor has the advantages of robust mechanical structure, low manufacture cost and capability of operation under hostile environments. Simulation tools such as finite element analysis (FEA) are applied for the verification of motor performance and corresponding experiments are carried out to testify the simulation results. The authors expect that the innovative actuator design can be applied in industrial applications that require both rotary and linear motions.