Abstract: There are few studies on additive manufacturing with powder core wire, and its theory is still immature. Taking Cu-Al-Fe alloy as the research object, this paper systematically discusses the relevant theories of additive manufacturing with powder core wire (deposition forming theory, gradient heat transfer theory and grain refinement theory). The Simulact-Welding platform was used to build a single-channel and multi-layer numerical model. Through the analysis of the multi-group temperature field, the optimal process window under the test conditions is obtained, the input current of 140 A and scanning speed of 0.4 m/min. Finally, the deposition forming test of powder core wire under the optimized process window is carried out. The results indicate that taking the optimized process can obtain a thin wall with a good shape. And this study can provide the necessary theoretical and experimental basis for arc additive manufacturing with powder core wire.