Abstract: To solve the problem of reasonable layout of lower coal seam roadways in close-distance coal seam groups, research is carried out by combining theoretical calculation and FLAC^3D numerical simulation, with the layout of 3# coal seam mining roadways after the mining of 2# coal seam in the fifth mining area of Hesheng Coal Industry as the engineering background. Theoretical calculations are used to analyze the distribution laws of vertical stress, horizontal stress, shear stress and principal stress difference of the coal and rock layers under the protective coal pillar of 2# coal seam, clarifying the evolution characteristics of each stress at different spatial positions. FLAC^3D numerical calculation is employed to deeply study the distribution pattern of principal stress difference in the floor coal and rock layers, focusing on analyzing the evolution characteristics of principal stress difference and principal stress difference change rate with the variation of interlayer spacing. The study shows that with the increase of interlayer spacing, the peak value of principal stress difference decreases gradually, the distance between the position where principal stress difference tends to be stable and the protective coal pillar increases, and the principal stress difference change rate presents the characteristics of first increasing, then dropping sharply and finally tending to be stable. Based on the above research results, the horizontal offset of the mining roadway layout in the 3516 working face of the fifth mining area is determined as 15 m by synthesizing the theoretical value of horizontal offset from theoretical calculation and the critical distance of stress stability in numerical simulation, while considering the safety factor. Partition support schemes are proposed according to the difference of interlayer spacing: when the interlayer spacing is 4.5-6.5 m, the support scheme of “roof long and short anchor cables + two ribs left-handed high-strength rock bolts” is adopted; when the interlayer spacing is more than 6.5 m, the support scheme of “roof new long anchor cables and rock bolts + two ribs left-handed high-strength rock bolts” is adopted. On-site monitoring results show that after the implementation of the partition support scheme, the roadway self-stabilization time is about 20 days, the roof and floor convergence is 83 mm, the two ribs convergence is 82 mm, and there are no failures of anchor bolts and cables or large deformation and instability of the roadway. The surrounding rock control effect is good, which verifies the rationality of the roadway layout position and partition support scheme, and can provide practical reference for the layout and surrounding rock control of lower coal seam mining roadways in similar close-distance coal seam groups.