Abstract: 10 kV XLPE cables used in distribution grids is currently the mainstream transmission lines of urban distribution grids, however, defects are prone to occur in such cable joints due to complex and harsh installation environment and the varying levels of engineering techniques, and so on, which in turn leads to frequent cable accidents. In order to effectively predict the operating conditions of cable joints and avoid accidents caused by the defects, such cable joints are modeled for a multi-physical field analysis to assess the risk levels of defects inside cable joints based on the analysis results, and verify the simulation results based on multi-physical field measurement experiments on 10 kV XLPE cables used in distribution grids.