The tandem cold-rolling process is a multivariable, nonlinear, and strongly coupled complex control procedure, in which the key technologies of automatic gauge control (AGC) and automatic tension control (ATC) are extremely comprehensive, and high precision is required. This paper analyzes the rolling characteristics of tandem cold-rolling process and proposes an innovative multivariable optimization strategy based on inverse linear quadratic (ILQ) optimal control theory for thickness and tension control. First, a new state space model of the tandem cold-rolling process was introduced and verified based on the basic equations of rolling technology and field data. Then, meaningful influence rules on the complex rolling process were obtained by analyzing rolling characteristics. For the complex rolling process, a novel ILQ control strategy was introduced into the thickness and tension control system. As a result, by a series of experiments, the effect of disturbance on the thickness and tension was attenuated to an arbitrary degree of accuracy through the proposed control strategy. Simulation results showed the excellent control performance of the proposed ILQ control strategy compared with the conventional proportion and integration (PI) control strategy.