The equivalent linearization method approximates the maximum displacement response of nonlinear structures through the corresponding equivalent linear system.By using the particle swarm optimization technique,a new statistical approach is developed to determine the key parameters of such an equivalent linear system over a 2D space of period and damping ratio.The new optimization criterion realizes the consideration of the structural safety margin in the equivalent linearization method when applied to the performance-based seismic design/evaluation of engineering structures.As an application,equations for equivalent system parameters of both bilinear hysteretic and stiffness degrading single-degree-of-freedom systems are deduced with the assumption of a constant ductility ratio.Error analyses are also performed to validate the proposed approach.