Extensive segment floating will result in segment dislocation, crack, and leakage, posing significant risks of engineering accidents. It is important to control the segment floating based on adjusting shield operational parameters finely. A knowledge-based intelligence method designed for controlling segment floating is proposed in this study. Leveraging prior knowledge in segment floating, the framework of the intelligence method is constructed. This framework consists of a segment floating prediction model along with two auxiliary models. The segment floating prediction model considers the spatial and temporal characteristics of the shield operational parameters, including the early activation of the shield excavation parameters and the hysteretic nature of tail grouting parameters. The segment floating prediction model is the basis of the knowledge-based intelligence method. A multi-ring optimization strategy is designed to solve the conflict between the optimization results of adjacent rings. The case study shows that the segment floating prediction model has high prediction accuracy due to consideration of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the shield operational parameters. Considering the performance and computation cost, the optimal parameter configuration is figured out.