This article proposes a decomposition-based multi-objective differential evolution particle swarm optimization (DMDEPSO) algorithm for the design of a tubular permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (TPMLSM) which takes into account multiple conflicting objectives. In the optimization process, the objectives are evaluated by an artificial neural network response surface (ANNRS), which is trained by the samples of the TPMSLM whose performances are calculated by finite element analysis (FEA). DMDEPSO which hybridizes differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) together, first decomposes the multi-objective optimization problem into a number of single-objective optimization subproblems, each of which is associated with a Pareto optimal solution, and then optimizes these subproblems simultaneously. PSO updates the position of each particle (solution) according to the best information about itself and its neighbourhood. If any particle stagnates continuously, DE relocates its position by using two different particles randomly selected from the whole swarm. Finally, based on the DMDEPSO, optimization is gradually carried out to maximize the thrust of TPMLSM and minimize the ripple, permanent magnet volume, and winding volume simultaneously. The result shows that the optimized TPMLSM meets or exceeds the performance requirements. In addition, comparisons with chosen algorithms illustrate the effectiveness of DMDEPSO to find the Pareto optimal solutions for the TPMLSM optimization problem.