Backlash in servo mechanisms causes a severe deterioration in system performance.To reduce the influence of backlash on the system, a backstepping integral adaptive control is proposed. A dynamic model of a servo mechanism with backlash, considering equivalent stiffness and damping, is established. The control design is achieved by introducing parameter adaptation with a backstepping technique that ensures the convergence of parameter estimation and global stability of the adaptive system. Simulation and experimental results show that the system's tracking accuracy and servo bandwidth are significantly improved and increased. More importantly, the impact and oscillation are evidently reduced while reversing, compared with conventional proportional-integral-derivative control.