A digital preview controller using optimal LQ control theory is suggested for tandem cold mills to achieve a remarkable improvement of the thickness accuracy. Optimal preview control system is constructed for each rolling stand of tandem cold mills for which the blocked noninteracting control is carried out, and it is compared with the optimal LQ control system which has only feedback control. And in the cases that all/some of disturbance inputs are previewable, full and partial preview controllers are designed, and their performance effects are compared and discussed. The simulation results show that the performance of tandem cold mills can be improved largely through partial preview control.