In this paper, we propose a new method based on a three-dimensional (3D) space-based strategy for the optical image encryption. The two-dimensional (2D) processing of a plaintext in the conventional optical encryption methods is extended to a 3D space-based processing. Each pixel of the plaintext is considered as one particle in the proposed space-based optical image encryption, and the diffraction of all particles forms an object wave in the phase-shifting digital holography. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method are demonstrated by numerical results. The proposed method can provide a new optical encryption strategy instead of the conventional 2D processing, and may open up a new research perspective for the optical image encryption.