Abstract: Research on the method for evaluating the driving performance of cutterhead systems is helpful to obtain optimal cutterhead design, which is significant for improving the efficiency of shield tunneling, reducing construction costs and improving construction safety. Combining simulation analysis with the fuzzy evaluation method, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is proposed based on the driving performance of the cutterhead to determine optimal cutterhead design. The performance index of the cutterhead driving system is presented. A discrete-element simulation model of the cutterhead system and the method to obtain the driving performance index are established. Five driving performance indexes of cutterhead systems are selected as the evaluation factors and the importance degrees of the five factors are determined by the Delphi method. The grade index and the evaluation matrix of the evaluation factors are determined by simulation and data analysis. The driving performance of the cutterhead is evaluated by the generalized fuzzy synthesis algorithm. Using the shield construction of the Beijing Metro in a sandy pebble stratum as an example, it is proved by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method that the driving performance of a spoke-type cutterhead is better than the board-type cutterhead.