This paper deals with the problems of stability and stabilization for continuous-time Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) models. By employing the order relation information of the membership functions (MFs), the transformation matrix and the pseudo-MF vector are obtained. The conventional continuous-time T–S fuzzy model is then transformed to a new compact T–S model, based on which relaxed stability and stabilization conditions are derived in the form of linear matrix inequalities. An improved approach to constructing the transformation matrix is presented, which could take full advantage of the order relation information of the MFs and further reduce the conservatism. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.