Influence of hydride precipitated at the tip of the crack on crack propagation in zircaloy-4 is numerically investigated using the extended finite element method (XFEM). Numerical simulation is performed on compact tension specimen to understand the effects of crack and hydride lengths on crack propagation in terms of stress intensity factor and J-integral. The values of stress intensity factor and J-integral indicate that hydride induces the crack instability. The stress intensity factor decreases with the precipitation of brittle hydride phase at the crack tip, resulting in hydride-assisted crack propagation. A comparison of crack propagation behaviour with different hydride lengths is also presented. The crack remains stable in the absence of the hydride while it propagates when hydride is considered at its tip for the same applied load. The crack arrests only after reaching to the zircaloy metal matrix causing complete fracture of hydride. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.