Ensuring stability of the excavation surface when using the shield method during tunnel excavation is crucial to achieve engineering goals related to project progress and quality. Insufficient research has been conducted on multi-objective optimal control when considering excavation surface stability. The excavation efficiency was selected as the indicator of project progress and the maximum ground settlement resulting from shield tunnelling activities was selected as the indicator of project quality. The stratified sequencing method and NSGA-II multi-objective optimization algorithm were used to explore multi-objective optimization pertaining to shield excavation surface stability. The research sets the shield excavation surface stability as the first layer objective and the project progress, and project quality as the second layer objectives. The technique was implemented in a construction tunnel segment that traverses embankment, open area, and sensitive building areas indefinitely. The findings demonstrate that the refined shield pressure remains within the upper and lower boundary thresholds, thereby boosting construction efficacy and mitigating max ground settlement. This approach enables the refinement and optimization of control strategies in response to prevailing working conditions adaptively, enhancing adaptability and flexibility. It also offers guidance and serves as a point of reference for similar shield tunnel projects.