In this paper, the crack-inclusion interaction considering the exponential distribution of critical current density is carried out for a functionally graded superconducting cylinder during the zero-field cooling (ZFC) process. By determining the stress intensity factors (SIFs) at the crack tips and performing magnetoelastic stress analysis, the result indicates that the increase of the gradient parameter of critical current density could effectively reduce the stress intensity factors based on the effect of the gradient parameter on the elastic constants ratio of inclusion/matrix, sizes of the inclusion and crack, and the distance between them upon electromagnetic force. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.