Recently, for discrete-event systems modelled by automata, Ramadge and Wonham (1987 a, b) have proposed two control techniques called ‘supervisory control’ and ‘state feedback logic’. If control specifications are given in terms of predicates on the set of states, both techniques are applicable. This paper discusses the relationship between these techniques. It is shown that the language accepted by the discrete-event system with maximally permissive feedback is equal to the supremal controllable language if the predicate is control invariant. Moreover, it is shown that the predicate is control invariant if there exists a controllable language with a certain condition on the set of reachable states, but the converse does not hold in general