<p>With the integration of numerous power electronic devices into the grid leading to a reduction in overall system inertia, virtual synchronous generators (VSGs) have been demonstrated as an effective solution to address issues arising from inverter grid connections. However, the design of complex parameters for the VSG and the dynamic response performance of the system under disturbances require further investigation. In this paper, an arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) is introduced, and a fitness function is designed based on frequency and voltage errors to optimize the four key parameters of the VSG. Subsequently, the transient relationship of the power angle is utilized to dynamically adjust both the moment of inertia (<i>J</i>) and the damping coefficient (<i>D</i>). In addition, a nonlinear adaptive control strategy is designed by introducing a hyperbolic tangent function to regulate <i>J</i> and <i>D</i>. Comparative analyses with other control strategies are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink, validating the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.</p>