Aiming at the attitude control problem of heavy-lift launch vehicle, an adaptive control method based on super-twisting algorithm is proposed in this paper, which avoids the high frequency chattering of traditional adaptive control, and has a simple structure. Firstly, the attitude dynamic model of heavy launch vehicle is described as an attitude control system based on quaternion. Then, an adaptive super-twisting controller is designed for the system, and the stability of the closed-loop system is proved. Finally, the proposed control method is compared with the traditional adaptive control method, and the simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can make the system error converge to zero more quickly, while effectively suppressing chattering.