In this paper, robust adaptive sliding mode tracking control for discrete-time multi-input multi-output systems with unknown parameters and disturbance is considered. The robust tracking controller is comprised of adaptive control and sliding mode control design. Bounded motion of the system around the sliding surface and stability of the global system in the sense that all signals remain bounded are guaranteed. If the disturbance and the reference signal are slowly varying with respect to the sampling frequency, the proposed sliding mode controller can reject the disturbance and output tracking can be approximately achieved. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the proposed approach. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.