Abstract Conductor on Round Core (CORC) cables, with their exceptional current-carrying capacity and flexibility, are key candidates for fusion devices. The enormous heat generated by the AC loss of CORC cables under high-current conditions can seriously impair the stable operation of the entire fusion device. Therefore, an analysis of the AC loss characteristics of high-current CORC cables is essential. However, due to the difficulties in modeling high-current CORC cables, current research has only been limited to the AC loss of CORC cables with a small number of layers. Thus, this paper establishes a 3D analytical model for the AC loss of a 24-layer CORC cable suitable for controlled nuclear fusion, based on the T-A method. The model validity is confirmed through cross-verification with H-formulation simulations and experimental measurements conducted on cables with a limited number of layers. This study confirms that winding adjacent tape layers in opposite directions can significantly reduce hysteresis loss, with a difference of up to 462.5% observed compared to same-direction winding when the layer count reaches six. A parametric study identifies an optimal strategy for distributing a fixed total number of tapes across layers: employing fewer tapes in inner layers, a greater number in outer layers, and maximising the total number of layers. In addition, using the validated model, numerical simulations are performed to investigate how hysteresis loss varies under external magnetic fields of different spatial directions. The presented results offer a robust framework for assessing hysteresis loss in high-current CORC cables, supporting their design for practical engineering applications.