Addressing the challenges of surrounding rock control in gob-side entry retaining for fully mechanized caving surfaces, the transportation tunnel of the fully mechanized mining face of Lugou Mine was taken as the engineering object gob-side entry retaining, and the analysis methods such as theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, on-site investigation and actual measurement was used, the failure mechanism and stress distribution characteristics of the overburden rock along the empty remaining roadway in the fully mechanized caving face were analyzed, and the "support - pressure relief" collaborative control technology of the surrounding rock of the remaining roadway was proposed specifically. The UDEC numerical simulation analysis of the roof cutting height of the gob-side entry retaining was carried out. With the increase of the roof cutting height, the peak value of stress concentration in the surrounding rock decreased more. When the roof cutting height was 15 m, it effectively alleviated the pressure of the surrounding rock of the gob-side entry retaining, and was more conducive to the collapse of the main roof after breaking. Actively reinforce the surrounding rock in the roadway by using anchor cables, anchor nets and supports was put forward. After the roof was cut, flexible formwork concrete was used for passive load-bearing support beside the roadway. The two work in coordination to prevent rapid deformation and instability of the roadway and jointly maintain the stability of the surrounding rock remaining in the roadway. The on-site practice showed that the maximum subsidence of the roof of the retained roadway was 117 mm, verifying that the "support - pressure relief" coordinated control technology could effectively control the deformation of the surrounding rock of the retained roadway.