Field orientation control of induction machine (IM) drives is a well-known strategy which has a fast dynamic response. In this paper, the direct rotor flux field orientation control of speed sensorless IM drive is presented. A two level space vector modulation inverter is employed to generate the command stator voltage. In proposed control scheme, a maximum torque per ampere strategy is achieved using a so-called fast flux search method. Based on this method, for a given load torque and rotor speed, the magnitude of rotor reference flux is adjusted step by step until the effective value of stator current becomes minimized finally. In addition, using the IM fifth order model in the stationary reference frame, a nonlinear rotor flux observer is developed which is also capable of motor resistances and rotor speed simultaneously estimation. Moreover, a useful method is introduced for dc offset compensation which is a major problem of ac drives especially at low speeds. The proposed control idea is experimentally implemented in real time using a CPLD board synchronized with a personal computer. Simulation and experimental results are finally presented to confirm the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.