Distributed temperature sensing(DTS)using heated cables has been recently developed for distributed monitoring of in-situ soil moisture content.In this method,the thermal and electrical properties of heated cables have a significant influence on the measurement accuracy of soil moisture content.In this paper,the performances of two heated cables,i.e.the carbon-fiber heated cable(CFHC)and the metalnet heated cable(MNHC),are studied in the laboratory.Their structures,uniformity in the axial direction,measurement accuracy and suitability are evaluated.The test results indicate that the MNHC has a better uniformity in the axial direction than CFHC.Both CFHC and MNHC have high measurement accuracy.The CFHC is more suitable for short-distance measurement(500 m),while the MNHC can be used for longdistance measurement(>500 m). Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) using heated cables has been recently developed for distributed monitoring of in-situ soil moisture content. In this method, the thermal and electrical properties of heated cables have a significant influence on the measurement accuracy of soil moisture content. this paper, the performances of two heated cables, iethe carbon-fiber heated cable (CFHC) and the metalnet heated cable (MNHC), were studied in the laboratory. Their structures, uniformity in the axial direction, measurement accuracy and suitability are evaluated The test results indicate that the MNHC has a better uniformity in the axial direction than CFHC.Both CFHC and MNHC have high measurement accuracy. The CFHC is more suitable for short-distance measurement (500 m), while the MNHC can be used for longdistance measurement (> 500 m).