The 30-year-old arrives at the League Two club as a free agent after being released by Fleetwood Town.
Hughes made 22 appearances for the Cod Army last season.
His former clubs include Crystal Palace, Peterborough United and Notts County.
Cambridge start the new campaign at home to Newport County on August 8.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Wycombe WanderersWycombe | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 38 |
| 2 | Wrexham | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 34 |
| 3 | Birmingham CityBirmingham | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 33 |
| 4 | Stockport CountyStockport | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 17 | 12 | 30 |
| 5 | Huddersfield TownHuddersfield | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 29 |
| 6 | Barnsley | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 27 |
| 7 | Reading | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 27 |
| 8 | Bolton WanderersBolton | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 26 | -1 | 27 |
| 9 | Lincoln CityLincoln | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 26 |
| 10 | Mansfield TownMansfield | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 24 |
| 11 | Exeter CityExeter | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 23 |
| 12 | Charlton AthleticCharlton | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 22 |
| 13 | Peterborough UnitedPeterborough | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 21 |
| 14 | Bristol Rovers | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 21 |
| 15 | Wigan AthleticWigan | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 20 |
| 16 | Blackpool | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 30 | -6 | 20 |
| 17 | Stevenage | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 19 |
| 18 | Northampton TownNorthampton | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 18 |
| 19 | Rotherham UnitedRotherham | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 17 |
| 20 | Crawley TownCrawley | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 16 |
| 21 | Leyton Orient | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 15 |
| 22 | Cambridge UnitedCambridge | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 13 |
| 23 | Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 11 |
| 24 | Burton Albion | 16 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 8 |
| > League One Full Table | |||||||||
