Abstract. Cutting-direction fracture is one of the most common and undesirable phenomenon occurring in machining operations that reduces assembly and machined part quality, and it should be avoided or at least reduced.. A finite element model has been established to investigate the mechanism of cutting direction fracture formation in machining H64 brass. Based on stress distribution, a cutting direction fracture formation mechanism was proposed and divided into five stages: normal cutting stage, pivoting stage, crack initiation stage, crack growth stage and fracture formation stage. The cutting direction fracture forms when there is a crack in the area near the tool tip and grow along the negativel shear zone.