Agile synthetic aperture radar （SAR） satellites have strong maneuvering ability and high image quality， which can achieve stripe-map mode， sliding spotlight mode， large angle side view and large angle squint image. Sliding spotlight imaging is a typical application mode of agile SAR satellites with high geometric resolution and high image quality. According to the imaging characteristics of the sliding spotlight imaging， this paper analyzes two typical attitude control methods of the sliding spotlight imaging mode， and carries out simulation， test and comparative analysis. This study can support the application of the sliding spotlight imaging mode of the satellite in orbit.