Abstract: To study the law of deformation and failure of surrounding rock during roadway excavation and the influence of reasonable empty roof distance on roadway excavation efficiency, taking the geological conditions of Mengcun Mine as the engineering background, using theoretical calculation and FLAC^3D numerical simulation method, a reasonable plan for empty roof distance and roadway support parameters suitable for 4^# coal seam in Mengcun Mine is proposed, and based on the numerical simulation results, the damage of the surrounding rock of the roadway and its influence on the driving efficiency under different support schemes are discussed. The research shows that during the tunnel excavation, the deformation of the surrounding rock of the tunnel is relatively small; under the ideal conditions of the 401104 working face transport roadway, the tunnel excavation headway distance is 3.14 m, and the actual geological conditions for production of Mengcun Mine are considered, and the empty roof distance is 2 m; by optimizing the existing support parameters, a support plan with a row spacing of 800 mm × 1 000 mm and 7 rods in each row is proposed, the monthly footage is increased by 3.8 times, and the top anchor rods of 100 m roadway support consumables are reduced by 63.3%. The use of the optimized support scheme can save support time and improve tunnel excavation efficiency.