Abstract: Compared to conventional propeller planes, leading-edge distributed propeller aircrafts experience more severe impact of the slipstream effect. Such an effect ought to be taken into account in the design of the layout of distributed propellers, so that the aircrafts can achieve better aerodynamic characteristics. In the present study, the slipstream was simulated with an equivalent actuator disk model instead of real propellers based on the Navier-Stokes equations. The reliability and accuracy of the employed equivalent actuator disk model were verified. Overset method was used to combine both grids of the equivalent actuator disk and the wing to generate integrated computation, so that the computational grids and aerodynamic data for the wing under slipstream effects could be obtained automatically and rapidly during the optimization process. The optimization process for the distributed propeller layout design was established based on quantum particle swarm optimization algorithm, which was applied to distributed propeller layout design of a configuration employing a straight wing of NACA4412 airfoil and five leading-edge propellers. Results indicates that (a) the slipstream of distributed propellers can be simulated by the equivalent actuator disk efficiently and accurately; (b) lift and drag performance of the wing can be greatly improved with the optimization system taking into account the slipstream effect of the distributed propellers, and the configuration with the optimized propeller layout presents a lift increase of 5.6% and a drag reduction of 13.9% under the taking off condition. Therefore, the proposed optimization system is practical and valuable for distributed propeller layout design under slipstream effects.