In order to improve the dynamic characteristics of the EHA forklift lifting system, a mathematical model of the motor and hydraulic parts of the system was established. In view of the difficulty of adjusting the system parameters of traditional PID control, large overshoot and slow response speed, the improved PSO optimization algorithm was combined with the PID controller, and a PSO-PID controller was proposed. A simulation model of the entire system was built through MATLAB/Simulink. The comparative analysis of the dynamic performance of the system using traditional PID control and PSO-PID control shows that the system based on PSO-PID control has significantly reduced overshoot, and the response speed, control accuracy and displacement tracking performance of the system have been significantly improved.