Path planning for multi-robot systems is an attractive problem recently. Unlike single-robot path planning, it is essential to consider factors such as mutual cooperation among robots and obstacle avoidance. A formation path planning algorithm based on the dung beetle optimizer for multi-robot systems is proposed in this paper, taking into account the maximum steering angle of the robots. First, the dung beetle optimizer is utilized to the path planning for leader such that the optimization ability is improved, with the premise that the multi-robot system is constructed as a leader-following architecture. Then, combined with the improved artificial potential field approach, the formation path is obtained such that obstacle avoidance is achieved. Finally, a series of simulations are conducted using Matlab, and the results demonstrate that the proposed approach successfully generates the optimal path for the multi-robot system.