Abstract：Aimed at the problem of locating the protection scope of steep inclined upper-protective layer of pitching oblique mining(POM)，based on finite element method and the geological properties and the physico-mechanical parameters of roof and floor rock strata of protective layer，the changing processes of stress field and deformation field of protective layer after exploiting steep inclined upper-protective layer of POM are simulated by 3D-σ software. Then，the protecting effect of protective layer is gotten，while the changing laws of the maximum principal stress and deformation of protective layer along with the exploitation of upper-protective layer are analyzed. According to the protection rule of the deformation and stress-relief in exploiting protective layer，the inclination and strike protection scopes of protective layer are located. The results show that the upper and downside stress-relief angles along inclination of steep inclined upper-protective layer of POM are 84.9° and 68° ，respectively；The distribution of strike stress-relief angles along inclination of working face is uneven everywhere，and their values are 38.3°–51.0°. And the protection scopes of steep inclined upper-protective layer of POM located by the method of practical test and numerical simulation are basically consistent. The conclusion can be drawn that it is feasible to study the protection scope of steep inclined upper-protective layer of POM by using numerical simulation and its results are acceptable.
