Electrofusion(EF) joints have been widely used as they are easy to fuse and suitable for high-quality joints for polyethylene(PE) pipes. This paper studies the cause of defects and classifies 5 types of defects. The defect detection technique for electrofusion joints of polyethylene piping is utilized by the ultrasonic phased array technique to obtain ultrasonic images of electrofusion joints. Test sample joints have been designed and fabricated using artificial defects which were made using paper. Finally, we studied the condition of electrofusion in the field and analyzed the main causes of defects. And we classified the defect types as local lack of fusion, sand inclusion, voids or air inclusion, short stab, excess penetration or excess bead.