Abstract: [Objective] Aiming at the problem of autonomous berthing control of tugs, the application of target tracking control strategy based on virtual leadership in autonomous berthing of tugs is studied. [Methods] First, the autonomous berthing process of the tugboat is transformed into the target tracking control process of the virtual tugboat and the actual tugboat. Then, the kinematics model of the berthing system is designed. Considering the special environmental interference in the berthing scene, the backstepping method and the sliding mode control method are used to design the autonomous berthing controller of the full rotary tail propulsion tug. Three different sliding mode surfaces are provided and the stability is verified by Lyapunov function. Finally, the simulation test is used to verify the control effect through the berthing trajectory, speed error and distance error. [Result] The simulation results show that the designed tug autonomous berthing control strategy has good applicability in the tug autonomous berthing scene. The tug autonomous berthing controller can make the system stable and bounded, and can suppress the uncertain interference in the environment. The controllers based on three different sliding surface designs have their own advantages, and the controller based on the proportional integral differential sliding surface design has the best applicability. [Conclusion] The control strategy and the berthing controller designed in this paper have good applicability and robustness. The autonomous berthing control of the tug is realized in a new angle, which provides a new direction for the subsequent research on tug 's berthing control.