The use of thick plate in increasing in recent years due to the rapid expansion of chemical plants, nuclear plants, ships and other industrial plants. Welding is the most popular joining techniques employed in manufacturing industrial machineries and structures. Normally, Groove shapes are prepared according to appropriate rules and regulations such as KS, JIS, AWS, LR, DNV and etc. for various thicknesses of plate. However those groove angles tend to be too large. As a result of large groove angle, residual stress, deformation of material and strength reduction is obtained. Therefore, the reliability and safety of structures and machinery tend to be decreasing. Therefore, in this paper, theoretical as well as experimental study are carried out to find optimum groove shapes for T-welded joint of mild steel. The test specimen are made in same condition with simulation model. Welding residual stresses measurement by sectional cutting method. ⅰ) The mechanical difference for change the thickness of plate and groove angle are not appeared. ⅱ) In a mechanical point of view minimum preparation angle(40°) is more suitable than maximum groove angle(60℃). ⅲ) The measurement value and distribution of welding residual stresses are not effected largely by groove angle. It is mechanical restraint that mainly affect welding residual stresses distribution. In mechanical point of view minimum groove angle is more suitable than maximum groove angle. Therefore, it is appropriate to minimize the size of groove shape in strength and safety.