In this paper we propose an accelerated convergence method, which is combined with the homotopy analysis method (HAM), to solve nonlinear problems. The HAM is applied to obtain approximate expressions. According to the numbers of terms in the approximations, some ratio-control parameters are introduced in the solution expressions. By solving simultaneous algebraic equations, all artificial parameters can be optimally identified, including the so-called convergence-control parameter ℏ. Twoexamples are given to illustrate the validity of the new method. Comparison with L-P perturbation method and Runge-Kutta method reveals that the improved HAM is better than the standard HAM and applies especially to the problems with complicated nonlinear terms.