In order to study the typical fault overvoltage characteristics of ±1 100 kV DC filter and its protection measures, this paper uses PSCAD simulation software to calculate the DC filter short circuit, C₁ and C₂ breakdown in the bipolar full voltage operation mode, unipolar-ground line operation mode and unipolar-metal line operation mode in the background of ±1 100 kV Changji—Guquan UHVDC Transmission project. Besides, the transient overvoltage of the arrester is calculated under the most representative fault condition. Based on this, the impact of protection control strategies on overvoltage and energy is further studied. The results show that the overvoltage is more serious when the DC filter short-circuit fault occurs on the rectifier side; when the DC filter short-circuit fault occurs under the unipolar-metal operation mode, the overvoltage is more serious and the arrester absorbs more energy. After the arresters and protection control, the overvoltage values of the critical nodes are lower than the insulation level at the location, and the energy absorbed by the arresters does not exceed its capacity.