Through mathematical analysis, the performance of micro tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is evaluated successfully, which is in good agreement with the experimental data under different fuel flow. The results show that under the condition of high fuel utilization, a part of current path passing through the anode can increase by 16% compared with that under the condition of low fuel utilization, which can reduce the output performance of the cell. In the process of increasing fuel flow, the current gradually increases and reaches the platform value. When the length of cathode is long and the inner diameter of anode is small, the loss can be effectively reduced by changing the thickness of anode tube. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.