A theoretical model for designing a surface grating compressor is established, and key physical parameters including grating constant, incident angle, dispersion and grating size are clarified. Using ray-trace method, a sort of nanosecond (ns) level surface grating compressors is designed, which adopts a single surface grating and a four-way transmission structure. The compressor has advantages such as large dispersion adjustable range, high diffraction efficiency, compact structure and strong power tolerance. The ns level four pass transmission surface grating compressor has a diffraction efficiency of 73.2%, reaching 94% of the theoretical value, and an output pulse width of 459 fs.