Based on the engineering background of Xinwang Coal Mine, the range of spontaneous combustion ' three zones ' in goaf is analyzed by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The results show that the air inlet side of the working face lags behind the working face 0 ~ 22.6 m as the heat dissipation zone, 22.6 ~ 53.4 m as the oxidation zone, and 53.4 m away from the working face as the suffocation zone. The lag working face 0 ~ 4.8 m on the return air side is the heat dissipation zone, the lag working face 4.8 ~ 39.7 m is the oxidation zone, and the lag working face 39.7 m is the asphyxiation zone. Through the analysis of the field measured data of 3116 working face, the range of ' three zones ' of spontaneous combustion in goaf is basically consistent with the numerical simulation results, which verifies the accuracy of the numerical simulation analysis.