Abstract: The research of abrasive water jet combined with shield cutting tools in the cutting of reinforced concrete is carried out because of the disadvantages of the traditional shield cutting tools in the direct cutting of reinforced concrete. The cutting effect and mechanism of abrasive water jet on reinforced concrete and plain concrete under different moving speed are explored, and the best moving speed of cutting reinforced concrete is determined through simulation and experiment. The results show that the cutting mechanism of abrasive water jet is different from that of concrete. The contribution of water jet particles to steel cutting is limited. The depth and width of concrete incision are greater than those of steel. The sensitivity of concrete to the change of transverse velocity is less than that of steel bar. The damage width of concrete notch is enlarged but not obvious, and the cutting residues occur in the reinforcement under high transverse velocity. The cutting depth decreases with the increase of the traverse speed. The descending speed slows down. The transverse velocity of 10 mm/min can meet the requirements of cutting C55 reinforced concrete. The cutting experiment of the simulation shield machine is carried out based on the previous research results. The effect, tool damage and parameter characteristics of the abrasive water jet combined shield machine tool to break C55 reinforced concrete are analyzed, and the results are compared with those of the shell knife direct cutting. The results show that the abrasive water jet combined with shield cutter cutting can effectively solve the problem of steel winding caused by the direct cutting of shield cutter, reduce the cutter damage and control the peak torque.