Abstract: With the rapid development of smart distribution, a large number of intelligent devices and terminals have been introduced. Centralized operation and control in cloud will be faced with problems such as long delay, transmission channel congestion and personal privacy leakage. As a supplement to cloud computing, edge computing provides new solutions for solving these problems. As a computing paradigm for intelligent processing on the edge nodes of network, edge computing can solve these problems effectively. In this paper, we first analyze the development status of the distribution and edge computing, and expound the applicability of edge computing in smart distribution. Subsequently, three typical application scenarios including distribution fault analysis, regional integrated energy services, distribution external force destruction monitoring and warning are introduced. Finally, we discuss the challenges faced by application of edge computing in smart distribution.