The fuel cell vehicle has the fuel cell engine system (including the hydrogen system, the air system, the thermal management system, and the control system), the high voltage DC / DC transformation system, the low voltage DC / DC transformation system, the motor system, the battery system, and the high-power energy consumption accessories(like Air-Conditioning system) are typically complex systems. According to the multivariable and non-linear characteristics of the fuel cell vehicle powertrain system, a real-time simulation development platform of the fuel cell vehicle power system based on the model design is proposed; the design of the vehicle control system and the development of the control strategy are carried out; the simulation model of the fuel cell vehicle power system is established, the off-line simulation model can realize the control function, and the error between the simulation results and the actual test results is less than 5%, which shows that the simulation model is accurate; the hardware in the loop simulation platform of the vehicle controller is built, the vehicle control program can run correctly in the real-time controller with 10ms cycle. The test of the off-line simulation by Matlab/Simulink, the hardware in the loop (HIL) test of the controller, and the road test of the fuel cell vehicle are completed all. The test results show that the fuel cell vehicle real-time simulation development platform based on the model design can meet the development and test requirements of the fuel cell vehicle controller.