XEUS, the 'X-ray Early Universe Spectroscopy Mission', is a potential candidate for inclusion into the Cosmic Visions 1525 Science Programme of the European Space Agency ESA [1,2]. It is being studied jointly with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA. The newly developed Silicon-based High resolution Pore Optics (HPO) combines low mass density with good angular resolution, and enables the development of novel mission design concepts for the implementation of a new generation of space based X-ray telescope [3, 4, 5]. This optics technology allows also for the application of complex reflective coatings [6], improving the effective area of the telescope and permitting an enhancement in the engineering of the desired response function. This paper gives an overview of the telescope optical design and optical bench architecture, including the deployment scheme. Further, the performance predictions based on ray tracing are discussed and the overall telescope design of XEUS is presented.