A method of estimating an attitude of a control device for controlling operating machines, where the control device has a plurality of pushbuttons for controlling the movement of an operating machine along respective directions, the method having the following steps:—preliminary estimating the attitude of the control device using data from an accelerometer and a magnetometer onboard of the control device;—updating of the preliminary estimate of the attitude of the control device using data from a gyroscope onboard of the control device.