In order to improve the tracking precision of the photoelectric servo stabilized platform, a new terminal sliding mode control algorithm was proposed to solve the influence of the disturbance. Firstly, a new terminal sliding mode disturbance observer was constructed to realize fast estimation and real-time compensation for interference in the system. Secondly, combining the idea of finite time convergence with adaptive control theory, a new terminal sliding mode controller was designed to improve the tracking accuracy of the system, adjust the switching gain online, and reduce the chattering of the sliding mode controller effectively, so that the system state was quickly converged to the designed sliding surface in the limited time, and take fine compensation for non-estimated interference. Finally, the stability of the closed-loop control system was proved by Lyapunov theory. The experimental results indicated that this control strategy can ensure the tracking accuracy of photoelectric tracking system for moving targets. The error of tracking is less than 0.002°at the 0.05 Hz and less than 0.034°at 2 Hz, and the robustness of the system is enhanced.