This paper aims to study optimal control of a nonlinear composite beam using classical PJD controller. The optimal PJD parameters are obtained through numerical simulations using fminsearch algorithm. For this purpose, a suitable objective function is constructed based on weighted mean of the different well-known performance criteria leading to obtain a tracking error from the error dynamics of the closed loop system of the beam. An arbitrary desired trajectory is chosen to confirm the efficacy of the proposed optimal control scheme as the actual trajectory is found to be closely matched with the desired. © 2018 Author(s).