With the trend of intelligent mobile machine and the improvement of task quality requirements, each actuator of mobile machine should not only meet the velocity and output force characteristics but also the higher position accuracy during the operation. According to the principle of independent metering system and pump-valve hybrid control, a novel velocity and position combined control strategy is proposed for excavator arm, which is the typical hydraulic actuator. By using proposed strategy, the arm can move to target position along the designed trajectory and ensure the position accuracy. Then a test rig adopting the independent metering system is established on a 6t excavator. The test results show that the strategy is feasible. The research can provide some reference for automatic operation of excavator arm.