Abstract Axle sleeves are important parts of the drive axle for truck and construction machinery, and their large demand requires an efficient production process. Cross wedge rolling axle sleeves with mandrel can save material and enhance efficiency; however, axial movement and ovality are common problems if no stub bars are expected when hollow stepped axle sleeves with gradually reduced diameters in one direction are formed by cross wedge rolling. In this paper, the process of cross wedge rolling axle sleeves proximately without a stub bar was developed by using a combination of finite element simulation and experiments. On the basis of the simulation analysis, the process design of cross wedge rolling axle sleeves was improved to avoid axial movement and ovality. The field of strain and stress demonstrated that the deformation of cross wedge rolling axle sleeve with mandrel primarily took place in the triaxial compressive stress state, thereby significantly improving the microstructure. The hole expansion at the knifing position of the workpiece was analyzed and resolved by mandrel compensation. The simulation results were verified by experiments, and an economic and efficient formation method to produce an axle sleeve was achieved in this study.