Smart tuning of a filter depends very much on an accurate parametric model. Here, the authors develop a parametric model for a microwave filter based on an improved extreme learning machine (ELM). First, a coupling matrix is extracted from scattering parameters in undesirable states. The automatic decomposition and modular training strategy greatly reduces the network complexity. Next, by increasing the size of the output matrix of the hidden‐layer, the number of hidden layer nodes can be changed. Finally, the model parameters are optimised by combining the particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm and the differential evolution (DE) algorithm. The presented parametric model benefits from the information of the fusion mechanism with a hybrid optimisation algorithm and succeeds in avoiding slow convergence and premature influence on the system. It also achieves the desired training accuracy within the target time. Compared with prediction based on back‐propagation (BP) neural networks and least‐squares support vector machines (LS‐SVMs), the proposed method can be generalised and has a better modelling accuracy.