Piezoelectric actuators fundamentally possess hysteresis behavior. Estimation of the hysteresis is usually demanded for enhancing the performance of piezo-actuated systems. This paper presents an observer-based scheme to estimate the hysteresis in piezo—actuated flexible beams. The observer is based on a nonlinearity observer method. The discrete-time Kalman-filter algorithm is adopted for determination of the observer gains. The major advantages of the presented scheme include ease of implementation and robustness to uncertainty of hysteresis parameters. Simulation results demonstrate that the observer is able to estimate the hysteresis efficiently and has better robustness compared to the previous scheme existing in the literature. The present scheme was also successfully applied to a real-life system. Moreover, a control application example is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the scheme. Piezoelectric bars fundamentally possess hysteresis behavior. Estimation of the hysteresis is usually demanded for enhancing the performance of piezo-actuated systems. This paper presents an observer-based scheme to estimate the hysteresis in piezo-actuated flexible beams. The observer is based on a nonlinearity The major advantages of the presented scheme include ease of implementation and robustness to uncertainty of hysteresis parameters. Simulation results demonstrate that the observer is able to estimate the hysteresis efficiently and has better robustness compared to the previous scheme existing in the literature. Moreover, a control application example is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the scheme.