Abstract: In view of problems that states and characteristics of wire rope defects are random, and it is too difficult to physically calculate the damage of different forms of wire rope, two-dimensional magnetic load model is used to analyze leakage magnetic field of broken wire damage of wire rope, and calculation formula and magnetic field distribution of axial leakage magnetic field are obtained. The finite element simulation analysis of the axial leakage magnetic field of broken wire of wire rope is carried out by Ansoft Maxwell software to verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis result based on the magnetic charge model. The analysis results show that the magnetic flux leakage intensity changes obtained by the two methods are roughly the same, which can reflect the change law of axial flux leakage component of a single wire rope; within a certain range, as the fracture width increases, the axial flux leakage intensity of defects presents a nonlinear decreasing trend, and a single peak gradually differentiates into two peaks.