The strategy was proposed based on model and reference to adaptive control according to the properties of parameter variations and unpredictable, un-modeled error in parallel mechanism. Parameter variations and un-modeled error of mechanism system were treated as a disturbance to the practical system, an ideal reference model was established, and adaptive feedback rule was constructed depend on system status and the error. The adaptive control rule was derived by stability theory, and the practical mechanism had the same dynamic characteristics as parameter model. Example showed that adaptive controller could effectively restrain motion error which caused by parameter variations and un-modeled error, the mechanism has high tracking precision to planed target movement.