To solve the asymmetric instability problem of surrounding rock in gob-side entry retaining of gently inclined coal seams, No.110608 Face of Wenjiaba No.1 Mine was taken as the research object. A combination method of theoretical calculation, numerical simulation and field test was adopted to carry out research on roof cutting parameter optimization and cooperative anchoring technology. The results showed that the reasonable range of roof cutting height was determined as 7.0～10.5 m and the roof cutting angle as 12.9°～19.7° through theoretical derivation. The optimal combination of a roof cutting height of 10 m and a roof cutting angle of +15° was selected via numerical simulation. Aiming at the defects of the original anchoring scheme, including undifferentiated design and insufficient support of roof and floor, a modified support system was formed, which consisted of densely arranged bolts on the low side wall, additionally installed anchor cables on the high side wall, strengthened support for roof and floor, and coordinated gangue retaining beside the roadway. The 120-day field monitoring results indicated that the roof-to-floor convergence of the optimized roadway was 41.83～44.14 mm and the side-to-side convergence was 56.4～66.22 mm. Compared with the original support scheme, the roadway deformation was greatly reduced and the asymmetric deformation characteristics were significantly weakened. The optimized technology satisfied the long-term stability requirements of gob-side entry retaining, and provided a technical reference for similar gob-side entry retaining engineering practices in gently inclined coal seams.
