To reduce cutter wear and damage and improve the construction efficiency, a study is conducted on reasonable application, damage causes, and optimization techniques of cutters of tunnel boring machine(TBM). A statistical analysis on the replacement of worn disc cutters of TBM in Bid 2 project of Lanzhou water source, and the maximum allowable cutter wear is calculated. Four measures, cutterhead water spraying system maintenance, TBM tunneling attitude control, new cutter protection, and mucking outlet scraper maintenance, which can increase the service life of cutters are summarized. Meanwhile, the abnormal replaced cutters are also analyzed statistically, and the structure, heat treatment process, and assembly process of the disc cutters are analyzed. The optimization measures are put forward from the aspects of the shoulder structure and cutters assembly, which includes: (1) There should be no gap between the end caps when assembling the flat cutter. (2) Alcohol is used as a lubricant in the assembly of the disc cutter, which does not affect the assembly quality. The practical results show that the measures recommended can reduce the cutter replacement and cost and improve the tunneling efficiency.