The rolling ball robot has the advantages of simple structure and good adaptability. In order to improve the motion stability of the rolling ball robot, LQR and PID were used to control the self balancing motion of the rolling ball l robot. The three-dimensional model of the rolling ball robot was established by using SolidWorks and the corresponding physical prototype was built. The kinematics and dynamics models of the robot were obtained by using the Jacobi matrix and the equivalent single inverted pendulum. The PID motion position control algorithm and LQR motion tilt angle control algorithm were established, and the corresponding PID and LQR motion controllers were designed. The simulation and analysis of the established PID and LQR controllers were carried out by MATLAB/SIMULINK. The built physical prototype was used for experimental verification. The results show that the motion controller and its control algorithm designed by PID combined with LQR are accurate, which effectively improves the control precision and stability of the robot’s self balancing motion.