Driving force direction control strategy based on velocity signal for a linear engine/generator system was proposed and starting performance of this system was studied with Matlab/Simulink software. Results show that driving force direction needs be precisely controlled for starting successfully. With the control strategy based on velocity signal, system power loss is little and the driving force is optimized at 135N. Furthermore, the working frequency and distance of the moving part increases gradually for a few starting cycles until it reaches the steady state condition.