The influence of the fracture process zone (FPZ) on the fracture properties is one of the hottest topics in the field of fracture mechanics for cementitious materials. Within the FPZ in front of a traction free crack, cohesive forces are distributed in accordance with the softening stress-separation constitutive relation of the material. Therefore, further crack propagation necessitates energy dissipation, which is the work done by the cohesive forces. In this paper $g_f$, the local fracture energy characterizing the energy consumption due to the cohesive forces, is discussed. The computational expression of $g_f$ in the FPZ can be obtained for any stage during the material fracture process regarding the variation of FPZ, whether in terms of its length or width. $G_{fa}$, the average energy consumption along the crack extension region, has also been computed and discussed in this paper. The experimental results obtained from the wedge splitting tests on specimens with different initial notch ratios are employed to investigate the property of the local fracture energy $g_f$ and the average value $G_{fa}$ over the crack extension length. These results can be used to indicate the influence of the FPZ. Additionally, changes in the length of the FPZ during the fracture process are also studied.