Abstract: During the excavation construction of the return airway of Gaojiazhuang Coal Mine, the amount of water in the working surface suddenly increased, and the water pressure and water volume exceeded the normal range. In order to avoid water inrush accidents in the excavation process of a coal mine air return roadway, based on the principle of electromagnetic detection imaging technology of EH4 magnetotelluric method and reasonably arranging the measuring network in the surface area corresponding to the heading face of the return air tunnel, EH4 is used to explore the roadway heading area of 53 457 m². According to the change of apparent resistivity exploration results, the area of stagnant water and the source of gushing water were delineated combined with the comprehensive analysis of geological conditions. The results show the effectiveness of EH4 magnetotelluric method in water area exploration, which provides reliable basis for formulating reasonable exploration and drainage plan and technical measures.