To explain the change of the waveguide invariant β caused by the internal wave, the waveguide invariant is expressed as a stochastic distribution and the time-varying characteristics of β are analyzed; then the cause and principle of variation of β are discussed in terms of the normal modes theory of the acoustic field. It turns out that the waveguide invariant shows great frequency-dependent characteristics. And in the internal wave environment, when the sound is propagated parallel to the internal wave front, the sound field's composition of normal modes remains unchanged, but the turbulence in the group slowness and phase slowness of the main normal modes in the sound field may also change the distribution of β; when the sound is propagated perpendicular to the internal wave front, the coupling between acoustic normal modes might also cause obvious changes in the values of β.