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 | Birmingham CityBirmingham | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 45 |
| 2 | Wycombe WanderersWycombe | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 43 | 22 | 21 | 44 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 31 | 14 | 17 | 42 |
| 4 | Huddersfield TownHuddersfield | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 39 |
| 5 | Stockport CountyStockport | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 22 | 12 | 36 |
| 6 | Lincoln CityLincoln | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 3 | 31 |
| 7 | Reading | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 31 |
| 8 | Bolton WanderersBolton | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 29 | -1 | 31 |
| 9 | Barnsley | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 30 | -1 | 30 |
| 10 | Mansfield TownMansfield | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 22 | 1 | 28 |
| 11 | Charlton AthleticCharlton | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 19 | 4 | 27 |
| 12 | Blackpool | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 31 | -2 | 27 |
| 13 | Exeter CityExeter | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 27 |
| 14 | Stevenage | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 26 |
| 15 | Leyton Orient | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 25 |
| 16 | Peterborough UnitedPeterborough | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 38 | 37 | 1 | 24 |
| 17 | Wigan AthleticWigan | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 24 |
| 18 | Rotherham UnitedRotherham | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 23 |
| 19 | Bristol Rovers | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 29 | -11 | 22 |
| 20 | Northampton TownNorthampton | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 21 |
| 21 | Crawley TownCrawley | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 33 | -13 | 19 |
| 22 | Cambridge UnitedCambridge | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 17 |
| 23 | Burton Albion | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 32 | -15 | 12 |
| 24 | Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 12 |
| > League One Full Table | |||||||||
