To address the problems of difficult positioning and low detection timeliness of embankment piping points, high-precision distributed optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) was introduced. Through theoretical analysis and model tests, the influence of flow velocity and piping channel diameter on the distributed strain response characteristics was studied. Relationships between strain characteristic values and key indicators such as seepage velocity and piping channel diameter were established, and the feasibility of detecting piping based on high-precision strain information was demonstrated. The results show that OFDR can sensitively detect the strain changes caused by water flow through the optical cable. With the increase of flow velocity, the strain induced in the optical cable correspondingly increases, which is consistent with the theoretical derivation trend. The correlation between flow velocity and strain can reach 0.993. An increasein piping channel diameter also causes an increase in optical cable strain.