For the problems of non-uniform thickness distribution and poor formability of cylindrical shells in the manufacturing process, the rubber internal high-pressure bulging process was proposed to form cylindrical shells, and the formability of cylindrical shell was improved by optimizing the process parameters of shoulder force transmission area. Then, the test scheme was designed based on Box Behnken Design in the response surface method, and taking the inner fillet radius, outer fillet radius, bevel angle and friction factor of the shoulder force transmission area in the die structure as the design variables and the maximum thinning rate as the response value, the response surface model was established and optimized. Furthermore, the variance analysis and correlation analysis were conducted by the response surface model, and the optimal combination of process parameters for the internal high-pressure bulging of cylindrical shell was determined as the inner fillet radius of 9.89 mm,the outer fillet radius of 1 mm, the bevel angle of 10.13° and the friction factor of 0.104. Thus, the simulation analysis and test of internal high-pressure bulging in the cylindrical shell were carried out with the optimal process parameters to verify the reliability of the response surface model optimization and the accuracy of the simulation analysis.