In this paper, a novel indirect adaptive fuzzy controller is proposed for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems with input and output constrains. To address output and input constraints, a barrier Lyapunov function and an auxiliary design system are employed, respectively. The proposed approach is explored by employing fuzzy logic systems to tackle unknown nonlinear functions and combining the adaptive backstepping technique with adaptive fuzzy control design. Especially, the number of the online learning parameters are reduced to 2n in the closed-loop system. It is proved that the proposed control approach can guarantee that all the signals in the closed-loop system are bounded, and the input and output constraints are circumvented simultaneously. A numerical example with comparisons is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.