The present invention relates to a hydraulic control system for construction machinery capable of variably adjusting a set pressure of a relief valve, which controls a set pressure of a hydraulic system, according to a value inputted by means of pressure in the hydraulic system or the manipulation of a joystick. The hydraulic control system comprises: a flow control valve installed in a passage between a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic actuator, for controlling the driving of the hydraulic actuator by being switched by a control signal according to the manipulation of the joystick; a main relief valve installed in a passage between an upstream-side discharge passage of the hydraulic pump and a hydraulic tank, for returning a working fluid to the hydraulic tank when a high load exceeding a set pressure occurs in the system; a pressure controlling means for controlling, either continuously or in stages, a set pressure of the main relief valve; a pressure sensing means for sensing a pressure at a discharge side of the hydraulic pump; and a controller for determining the value inputted by the manipulation of the joystick, and a required set pressure for the relief valve according to the system pressure sensed by the pressure sensing means, and then outputting a control signal to the pressure controlling means to enable a set pressure of the relief valve to be variably adjusted to a determined set pressure.