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 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 29 |
| 2 | Birmingham CityBirmingham | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 29 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Mansfield TownMansfield | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 24 |
| 5 | Lincoln CityLincoln | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 24 |
| 6 | Bolton WanderersBolton | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 23 |
| 7 | Huddersfield TownHuddersfield | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 22 |
| 8 | Barnsley | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 22 |
| 9 | Reading | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 22 |
| 10 | Stockport CountyStockport | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 21 |
| 11 | Exeter CityExeter | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 19 |
| 12 | Charlton AthleticCharlton | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 19 |
| 13 | Peterborough UnitedPeterborough | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 26 | -1 | 18 |
| 14 | Rotherham UnitedRotherham | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 17 |
| 15 | Stevenage | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 17 |
| 16 | Blackpool | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 16 |
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 16 |
| 18 | Northampton TownNorthampton | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 15 |
| 19 | Wigan AthleticWigan | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 14 |
| 20 | Leyton Orient | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 11 |
| 21 | Crawley TownCrawley | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 25 | -13 | 11 |
| 22 | Cambridge UnitedCambridge | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 10 |
| 23 | Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 8 |
| 24 | Burton Albion | 13 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 5 |
| > League One Full Table | |||||||||
