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This study focuses on the control of a novel active vibration isolator using an adaptive backstepping approach. The developed active isolator is introduced and its dynamic model is presented. It is shown that the unknown nonlinear restoring force and damping parameter pose control challenges. The nonlinear restoring force is approximated as a polynomial with unknown coefficients. Adaptive control is chosen as a suitable approach to tackle the control challenges. An existing lower-order adaptive backstepping controller is modified in order to include the actuator dynamics and avoid the zero convergence of the estimated parameter vector. An extensive experimental study is conducted to test the effectiveness of the modified controller. The performance of the controller is compared with that of the lower-order controller. The results from several testing scenarios are presented and interpreted, and the issues related to parameter estimation and control performance are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]