A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system can provide all-weather, day and night, superior imaging capability, and thus is very useful in surveillance for military applications. In this paper, a X-band spaceborne SAR system design concept is introduced with the key design parameters for mission and system requirements characterized by small satellite system. The SAR imaging mode design procedure is presented, and the standard imaging mode design results are analyzed as an example. In line with the given mission and system requirements, the X-band SAR payload and ground reception/processing subsystems are designed and presented with the key design results. The designed small satellite SAR system shows the wide range of imaging capability, and proves to be an effective surveillance system in light-weight, high-performance and cost-effective points of view.