An active suspension control scheme using a combination of optimal control and backstepping technique is presented. It is based on a nonlinear half-car model fully considering the dynamics of the hydraulic actuator. The detailed procedure consists of two steps: firstly the linear quadratic optimal controller is designed based on the performance characteristics requirement in outer loop, and then the nonlinear terms caused by the hydraulic actuators are dealt with backstepping method in inner loop. Simulation results show that the car has safe maneuverability and excellent ride comfortability by using the proposed scheme.