In this study, we propose the design of optimized fuzzy controller for the rotary inverted pendulum system by using differential evolution algorithm. The structure of the differential evolution algorithm has a simple structure and its convergence to optimal values is superb in comparison to other optimization algorithms. Also the differential evolution algorithm is easier to use because it have simpler mathematical operators and have much less computational time when compared with other optimization algorithms. The rotary inverted pendulum system is nonlinear and has a unstable motion. The objective is to control the position of the rotating arm and to make the pendulum to maintain the unstable equilibrium point at vertical position. The output performance of the proposed fuzzy controller is considered from the viewpoint of performance criteria such as overshoot, steady-state error, and settling time through simulation and practical experiment. From the result of both simulation and practical experiment, we evaluate and analyze the performance of the proposed optimal fuzzy controller from the comparison between PGAs and differential evolution algorithms. Also we show the superiority of the output performance as well as the characteristic of differential evolution algorithm.