The basic component of an electromagnetic levitation systems are inductance and resistance of the actuator, input DC link voltage, mass of the payload, air-gap between the pole face of the magnet and ferromagnetic guide-way, controller parameters etc. All these parameters are supposed to get change in real life situation. Electromagnetic levitation system (EMLS) is inherently unstable and strongly nonlinear in nature. In most cases a classical controller has been designed for the linear model around an operating point for maintaining overall closed-loop stability. In this work, a cascade lead compensation control scheme utilizing inner current loop and outer position loop has been designed and implemented for stabilization of a single magnet based single axis levitation system. The prototype has been successfully tested and stable levitation has been demonstrated at the desired operating gap. The performances of the linear controller with the change in different parameters have been studied experimentally. The dynamic performance of the controller has been tested by applying different disturbance inputs (square wave, sinusoidal etc.) with increasing magnitudes and frequencies. The parameters of the designed controller also get varied during experimentation. So a sensitivity study of the controller for an EMLS is also important. © JES 2010.