Surrogate models are widely used in filter yield optimization methods to improve efficiency, which can be divided into online and offline. State-of-the-art offline surrogate model-based filter yield optimization methods are shown to be effective for filter cases with more than ten sensitive design variables. In these methods, a keystone is the appropriate definition of the space for building the surrogate model, deciding success/failure, or at least the efficiency of the yield optimization. However, there is a lack of systematic methods to achieve it. To address this challenge, a new method, called p attern s earch o ptimization-based surrogate m odeling s pace d efinition method (PSOMSD), is proposed. The performance of PSOMSD is demonstrated by a real-world filter case with 14 sensitive design variables. Analysis shows the appropriateness of the defined surrogate modeling space and advantages compared to empirical methods.