Transient simulation of filtration in hollow-fiber membranes with nonuniform permeability distribution was conducted. The diversity of permeability distributions caused different initial flux and transmembrane pressure distributions. Manipulating the permeability distribution enables a hollow-fiber membrane to achieve its maximum volumetric flow rate. During solid-liquid separation, the inter-adjustment between flux and cake distributions improved their uniformities simultaneously. The reciprocal of the volumetric flow rate of the membranes all increased linearly with water production. Severely nonuniform permeability distribution caused low water production. The numerical results could be applicable to account for the non-ideal performance of industrial hollow-fiber membrane modules.