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The inefficient operation of cooling equipment is a significant impact factor to the high energy consumption of cooling system in data center. This study proposes an advanced model predictive control (MPC) strategy for a hybrid cooling with water storage system to improve energy efficiency and reduce the accumulation of cold storage losses. Mixed integer linear programming (MILP) in MPC strategy is used to optimize the operating parameters under free cooling, hybrid cooling, and mechanical cooling modes, further solving the problem of precise optimization for different modes. Taking Guangzhou city as an example, the equipment scheduling and the appropriate volume of cold water storage tank for MPC strategy are analyzed. The results indicate that, the emergency cold water storage tank 500 m3 only supports the efficient operation of cooling system under the maximum 60 % IT load rate, meanwhile, the optimal tank volume 1400 m3 could meet the 60–100 % IT load rate. Compared to Baseline strategy, the biggest reduction of annual energy consumption using MPC strategy would be attained by 12.19 % under free cooling mode, by 4.04 % under hybrid cooling mode, and by 22.15 % under mechanical cooling conditions at the 55 % IT load rate. Therefore, the MPC strategy proposed in this paper has important guiding significance for energy conservation and carbon reduction in global data centers. • A novel advanced MPC strategy and MILP solver is developed for hybrid cooling system of data center. • The energy consumption of MPC strategy decreases by 12.19 % under free cooling mode at 55 % IT load. • The relationship between the water tank volume and IT load rate under MPC strategy is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]