The effect of cross-section shape of conductors on their aerodynamic characteristics is significant. Their bearing wind pressure is almost 50 to 70 % of the whole wind pressure of a transmission line. Aerodynamic characteristics and vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of real conductors with rough cross-section and those of conductors with smooth cross-section were analyzed using the numerical simulation method and   turbulence model based on RANS. The results were compared with those obtained with the test method. The fluid domain was meshed with ICEM. A 2-D circular cylinder in transverse flow direction’s VIV simulation model was established utilizing the dynamic mesh and sliding mesh model and embedding Newmark-β algorithm for structural response computation into the software FLUENT through the user define function (UDF) code. Aerodynamic and vibration characteristics of conductors under uniform flow and higher Reynolds number were studied with the variation of the reduced wind speed and Reynolds number. Simulation results showed that after considering conductors’ surface roughness, aerodynamic force and Strouhal number of fixed conductors drop; the range of conductors VIV’s "locked-in" region becomes wider and the vibration amplitude becomes larger; VIV amplitude of conductors with rough cross-section reaches 0.9D when the reduced wind speed is 5.766; aerodynamic force and vortex stripping mode of conductors with rough cross-section have larger changes, so the effects of surface roughness on aerodynamic characteristics of conductors are bigger.