A kind of hydraulic control system of small hydraulic press controlled by PLC is proposed. It mainly focuses on design of hydraulic control system, determination of hydraulic cylinder bore diameter and configuration and selection of PLC system along with design of control program, which have advantages of quick reaction, high efficiency, easy operation and reliable work. In addition, the simulation of the system has been conducted by using AMESim software. The auxiliary cylinder was adopted to achieve rapidly rising and falling in the design of hydraulic system, which owns quick reaction, high efficiency and less power loss. The relevant analysis can provide some guidance for the design of hydraulic system and semiautomatic control.