In the present paper, the analysis on a phase controlling for active power filter (APF) is proposed. It claims that a lag phase will be produced as a butterworth filter is used in the APF. A novel control strategy consisted of a rapid convergence tracking-differentiator is introduced to compensate the lag phase. Then, the stability of the system will be proved. Plus, simulation conforms to the correctness of the phase control and illustrates the advantages of the control strategy for improving the compensation precision.