For the surrounding rock control problems of gob-side entry retaining under the condition of deep mine and thick hard roof, the evolution process of roof mechanical model transformed from "cantilever beam" to "masonry beam" and the parameter range of reasonable roof cutting angle were analyzed through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. Combined with numerical simulation, the evolution law of stress peak of roadway rib with working face advancing during mining disturbance was revealed. By comparison, the stress reduction amplitude was relatively large within the range of 70° to 80°, while the stress curves tended to be close in the range of 80° to 90°. With the increase of roof cutting angle, the control effect on roadway rib stress was characterized by diminishing marginal effect. The analysis results showed that the deformation of roadway rib and roof reached 269 mm and 562 mm respectively without roof cutting. After roof cutting was implemented, the stability of surrounding rock was significantly improved. Among all schemes, the 80° roof cutting scheme was optimized, with the roadway rib deformation reduced to 169 mm and the roof subsidence reduced to 255 mm.