The invention discloses a five-axis side milling machining process parameter design method, belongs to the technology of numerical control (NC) machining, and solves the problem that real machining conditions cannot be reflected in cutting force calculation in the conventional process parameter design method. The method comprises the following steps of: tool path planning, cutting force calculation and process parameter optimization; in the tool path planning step, an NC code is generated by using computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software; in the cutting force calculation step, first, a continuous tool path is generated from the NC code; then, a cutting thickness is obtained; and finally, the cutting force is calculated according to the cutting thickness; and in the process parameter optimization step, whether the calculated cutting force is not greater than a design threshold is judged; if the calculated cutting force is not greater than the design threshold, the NC code, the cutting depth and a feed rate are taken as input parameters; and otherwise, an NC code is regenerated. In the method, the real machining conditions are reflected by utilizing a tool enveloping surface analytical expression and the obtained transient cutting thickness is more accurate, so that the accuracy of the calculation of the cutting thickness and the cutting force is improved, and reliable assurance is provided for precisely and efficiently machining a spatial curved surface.