In order to replace the jacket material for URD power cables, the 6 kinds of polyethylene compounds were manufactured and evaluated. The characteristics of the compounds were investigated by water vapor transmission (WVT) test, thermal and mechanical test. In WVT test, all the polyethylene compounds showed the superior water resistance to conventional PVC. The molecular structure and density of polyethylene play an important role in WVT. Also, the polyethylene compounds showed the suitable characteristics in thermal and mechanical test. Especially, the linear polyethylene compounds showed the superior characteristics to LDPE ones. Due to the fillers in compounds, the abrasion resistance was decreased and the cut-through resistance was increased. From this study, it can be considered that the polyethylene compounds may be suitable to jacket material for URD power cables.