The smart cable with embedded distributed fiber optical Bragg grating (FBG) sensors was chosen as the object to study a new diagnosis method about broken wires of the bridge cable. The diagnosis strategy based on cable force and stress distribution state of steel wires was put forward. By establishing the bridge-cable and cable-steel wires model, the broken wires sample database was simulated numerically. A method of the characterization cable state pattern which can both represent the degree and location of broken wires inside a cable was put forward. The training and predicting results of the sample database by the back propagation (BP) neural network showed that the proposed broken wires diagnosis method was feasible and expanded the broken wires diagnosis research area by using the smart cable which was used to be only representing cable force.