In order to solve the problem that the load swing suppression effect and control performance can not meet the actual engineering needs when the hoisting / lowering motion of the load is linked with the horizontal displacement of the trolley in the automatic driving research of underactuated bridge crane, a nonlinear coupling anti-swing controller based on energy analysis is proposed. The nonlinear coupling control method is used to construct a new energy storage function, and then a nonlinear coupling anti-swing controller is designed. By using the principle of the LaSalle invariance and Lyapunov methods, the stability of the closed-loop feedback system is strictly analyzed. Theoretical derivation, simulation and experimental results show that, compared with the nonlinear tracking controller and the partial feedback linearization controller, the proposed nonlinear coupling anti-swing controller has better control performance, which not only improves the lifting efficiency of the load, but also effectively suppresses and quickly eliminates the load swing angle; Under the condition of adding external disturbances, good control effects can still be obtained, and it has strong robustness, which provides a new anti-swing control method for the linkage system of bridge crane.