In the region of high maneuvering target tracking, the traditional interacting multiple model(IMM) algorithm has a fixed structure, which needs lots of models to describe the target maneuver, brings calculation burden and unnecessary inter-competition among the models maybe reduce the performance. To resolve this problem, an adaptive variable structure multiple model (AVSMM) algorithm is presented. Using several models which related to the target motion, according to the current target maneuvering level, at different moments, the algorithm can adjust the model’s parameters and build a different model set, then begin to filter estimate. Simulation results show that this algorithm can match actual target trajectory with less computational complexity and better accuracy.