In this paper, identification and control of a process whose dynamics can be described by a second-order-plus-dead-time (SOPDT) stable/unstable model is presented. Using the state-space approach and limit cycle information, analytical expressions are derived to identify the process dynamics. The wavelet decomposition is performed to recover a noise-free limit cycle output which is generally contaminated by measurement noise. The proportional–integral–derivative controller connected in the feedback loop is designed primarily to get good load disturbance rejection for the identified process. Reference tracking is achieved with the help of a set-point filter. The direct synthesis method with single tuning parameter is used to tune the controller parameters. The best value of the tuning parameter is selected using the particle swarm optimization algorithm in such a way that a good performance measure of the closed-loop system is achieved. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.