In order to realize the multilevel thresholding segmentation of color satellite images, a multistrategy emperor penguin optimizer (called MSEPO) is proposed to find the optimal threshold values for three channels of RGB images. Masi entropy is utilized as the objective function. Meanwhile, three strategies are introduced, namely highly disruptive polynomial mutation, Levy flight, and thermal exchange operator. Through these, the MSEPO is able to properly balance the exploration and exploitation mechanisms. Moreover, the convergence, accuracy and stability performance have been significantly enhanced. Tests are carried out on color Berkeley images and color satellite images at various threshold levels. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves higher Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), higher Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), higher Feature Similarity Index (FSIM), and shorter CPU time than seven state-ofthe-art optimization techniques. To present in a comprehensive manner, the computational complexity has also been analyzed in terms of time and space complexity. Wilcoxon rank sum test and Friedman test are also applied to statistical analysis. To sum up, MSEPO algorithm has achieved significant improvement and superior performance. What's more, the proposed technique is more suitable for high-dimensional segmentation of complex satellite images.INDEX TERMS Multilevel thresholding, satellite image segmentation, Masi entropy, emperor penguin optimizer, thermal exchange operator, multi-strategy.