In high power laser system, small-scale phase distorted wavefront measurement is necessary to compensate and control the wavefront of laser beam with intermediate frequency. As wavefront sensor, array Fresnel zone plates split wavefront, and its focus characteristics were investigated. Also, influence of the structure of array Fresnel zone plates on wavefront reconstruction was discussed. Simulation results show that the error of wavefront reconstruction is less than one-tenth of wavelength with suitable optical parameters. The optical system for the measurement of distorted wavefront was built to investigate the sensing characteristics of array Fresnel zone plates. Experimental results prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the wavefront measurement.