In this paper a method is presented to design an output feedback compensator for a higher-order system via its reduced-order model. The advantages of the method are two-fold: first is, the states are not required for feedback and secondly when the compensator is placed in the closed loop with the higher-order system it guarantees the closed-loop stability. The method is simple and can be easily implemented. The method is illustrated via a numerical example. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.