The rapid development of knowledge economy poses a challenge to higher education. To cultivate high-quality innovative talents, colleges and universities must carry out educational reforms and improve teaching quality. Modern control theory is the core course of automation major. In view of the characteristics of this course, such as its strong theory and relatively abstract nature, this paper focuses on teaching structure, teaching system, teaching content, teaching methods, bilingual teaching and the construction of teaching materials, and the author optimizes teaching content. And the selection of teaching materials, the reform of teaching methods, the strengthening of the connection with practical problems, the addition of experimental links, the reform of examination methods, and the combination of teaching and scientific research to discuss the reform ideas of this course.