The space multi-link manipulator is a complex nonlinear system, due to the rigid-flexible and bending– torsional coupling effects, and the problem of vibration will be caused when slewing and external disturbance excitation, which will affect the stability of the system. Based on classical vibration theory, the bending and torsional deformation assumptions for the flexible manipulators are proposed, and the dynamic equations of a space flexible manipulator are established using assumed mode methods and Lagrange equations. To suppress the elastic vibration, an adaptive fuzzy velocity control strategy based on Lyapunov stability is presented. The simulation results show that the elastic vibrations of the flexible manipulators aren’t avoidable in the rotating motion. Using the proposed control strategy, both the bending and torsional vibration of the flexible manipulators are effectively suppressed under control of the PZT shear actuator and torsional actuator, furthermore, the precision of the rotating motion is improved, which leads to a reduction of the control torque of the servo-motor. Therefore, the active control technologies of vibrationSsuppression for the space flexible manipulator system are achieved, and the positioning accuracy is also improved.