Day by day use of internal combustion engines (ICE) compared to electric vehicles (EV) is deteriorating because mainly of pollution and their less fuel availability. In the present scenario, an electric vehicle plays a major role in place of an ICE vehicle. So that performance of EV can be improved by proper selection of electric motor. Initially, EV prefers induction motors for traction purposes, but complexity in controlling induction motor, permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) presently used in EV by most of the electric vehicle manufacturers due to its advantages. This paper reviews on various control methods for PMSM used in EV. Various control methods are being used for EV applications. Initially, conventional direct torque control (DTC) technique being used in controlling electric motors but it has a drawback of high torque and flux ripples. Hence, intelligent controllers are predominantly using in controlling PMSM drives.