In response to the problems of easily falling into local optima, low path planning accuracy, and slow convergence speed when applying the traditional pelican optimization algorithm to the mobile robot path planning problem, a multi-strategy improved pelican optimization algorithm (MPOA) is proposed. In the initialization stage, chaotic mapping is used to increase the diversity of the pelican population individuals. In the exploration stage, an adaptive feedback adjustment factor is proposed to adjust the local optima of pelican individuals’ positions and balance the algorithm’s local development capability. In the development stage, the Lévy flight strategy is introduced to adjust the domain radius of the pelican population individuals, and the Gaussian mutation mechanism is used to disturb individuals that have fallen into local optima. Simulation experimental results show that the improved algorithm has significantly improved and effectively shortened the length of the planned path.