This paper studies the design of 1 MVA three-phase oil-immersed distribution transformers considering short-circuit testing (SCT) and its impact on the windings. To maintain the transformer function after the SCT, only an impedance variation within 5% is allowed. Therefore, in conjunction with the particle swarm optimization (PSO), a simulation-based optimal approach is developed for design of the distribution transformers. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to work with the PSO for calculation of flux densities, costs, core losses and magnetostriction variations for the transformers under a prescribed noise level. Three transformer prototypes are then built using two types of amorphous cores and a conventional silicon steel core, respectively. The performance after the SCT is evaluated for the prototypes constructed. From the test results, it is found that the amorphous core is suitable for transformers in terms of lower noise level, core loss and magnetostriction variation.Index Terms-Amorphous transformer, particle swarm optimization, finite element analysis, core loss, noise level 0018-9464 (c)