In order to solve the problems of short circuit, open circuit and insulation faults in aviation cables, a fault diagnosis method based on BP-Adaboost algorithm is proposed in this paper. The BP neural network is used as the weak classifier in the Adaboost algorithm, and many weak classifiers are composed a strong classifier with stronger classification performance to diagnose fault categories. The BP-Adaboost fault diagnosis model is established, and the BP-Adaboost algorithm is improved to adapt to the multi-classification faults of cables, so as to identify the short circuit, open circuit, and insulation faults in the aircraft cable as well as normal working conditions. The accuracy of classification is analyzed; the results of the algorithm are analyzed by Matlab software, and the analysis results show that the improved BP-Adaboost algorithm has a relatively good classification performance for multi-class aviation cable fault diagnosis. Finally, the feasibility of the algorithm proposed is verified through an example combined with cable fault detection equipment.