Abstract: In order to solve the problem of severe rock pressure in close range hard and thick roof roadways, a high-pressure abrasive water jet slotting and roof breaking technology is proposed. Firstly, the deformation mechanism of roadway under the condition of hard thick roof and the process of high-pressure abrasive water jet slotting hard rock are analyzed. Then, experiments are conducted on the slotting depth of high-pressure abrasive water jet under process parameters, and the slotting parameters of high-pressure abrasive water jet on typical roof rocks are obtained. Taking the 81403 working face of Huayang No.1 Mine as the engineering background, numerical simulation analysis is conducted to compare the vertical stress distribution and floor deformation of the surrounding rock of the roadway under different slotting angles and slotting drilling depths, and obtain the construction parameters of the slotting drilling. Finally, industrial application is carried out in the 81403 working face of Huayang No.1 Mine. After implementing hydraulic slotting measures in the experimental area, the deformation of the roadway is effectively controlled. The average displacement of the roadway top and bottom plate is 30.0%, and the average displacement of the two sides of the roadway is 23.2%. Compared with the comparison section, the displacement of the top and bottom plate decreased by 42.3%, and the displacement of the two sides decrease by 38.1%. The on-site application results show that the high-pressure abrasive water jet roof slotting and pressure relief technology can achieve effective slotting of hard roof rock layers in close proximity, cut off the stress transmission path between the roof rock layers on both sides, effectively improve the stress state of the surrounding rock of the roadway, reduce the deformation of the roof, floor, and two sides of the roadway in the later stage of mining, and reduce the difficulty of roadway maintenance.