In order to select power system for hybrid electric forklift(HEF), the power systems of parallel HEF and series-parallel HEF were designed from the two aspects of system configuration and control strategy. Firstly, the The simulation models of these two HEFs were built based on Matlab/Simulink. Secondly, the simulations in specific driving cycle were conducted to check the validity of simulation models. Thirdly, the simulation analysis of the control strategies was conducted. The power performance and fuel economy of these two kinds of HEFs were compared based on the simulations. The simulation results indicate that the power performances of these two kinds of HEFs are the same, while the fuel economy of series-parallel HEF is better than parallel HEF.