The model predictive control (MPC) technique for an articulated robot with n joints is introduced in this paper. The .proposed MPC control action is conceptually different with the traditional robot control methods in that the control action is determined by optimising a performance index over the time horizon. A neural network (NN) is used in this paper as the predictive model. The training data to set up the NN model corne from measuring the robot joint variables and torques during the running of the real robot. The computer simulations are given in the paper to demonstrate the advantages of the method.