A thermal model for a heat pipe with axially swallow-tailed microgrooves is developed and analyzed numerically to predict the heat transfer capacity and total thermal resistance. The effect of heat load on the axial distribution of capillary radius, and the effect of working temperature and wick structure on the maximum heat transfer capability, as well as the effect of the heat load and working temperature on the total thermal resistance are all investigated and discussed. It is indicated that the meniscus radius increases non-linearly and slowly at the evaporator and adiabatic section along the axial direction, while increasing drastically at the beginning of the condenser section. The pressure difference in the vapor phase along the axial direction is much smaller than that in the liquid phase. In addition, the heat transfer capacity is deeply affected by the working temperature and the size of the wick. A groove wick structure with a wider groove base width and higher groove depth can enhance the heat transfer capability. The effect of the working temperature on the total thermal resistance is insignificant; however, the total thermal resistance shows dependence upon the heat load. In addition, the accuracy of the model is also verified by the experiment in this paper.