This paper solves the problem of adaptive fuzzy inverse compensation control for an uncertain nonlinear system whose actuator is subjected to generalized dead-zone nonlinearity. By defining a continuous connection function and combining with the mean-value theorem, the generalized dead zone is first decomposed into a nominal asymmetric dead zone multiplying an uncertain continuous input function. Afterward, a smooth inversion and its parameterization are further proposed such that a new expression of adaptive asymmetric dead-zone compensation error is established in Theorems 1 and 2. With such an expression, the fuzzy systems can be successfully embedded into a compensation structure to indirectly handle uncertain input dynamics. In addition, a separation scheme is developed to construct two online estimators. Based on the above design procedure, an adaptive inverse compensator for generalized dead zone is built eventually. With the backstepping iteration design of compensator input, an adaptive fuzzy controller is developed to establish the closed-loop system stability. Finally, two simulations are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed control scheme. © 2016 IEEE.