Box tunneling has the advantages of high utilization rate, small disturbance and low cost. It is widely used in the construction of shallow underground engineering. The numerical simulation method is used to study the soil disturbance in the process of box tunneling construction. The three-dimensional numerical modeling is used to realize the simulation of jacking excavation, the equivalent layer is used to simulate the formation loss, the displacement control method is used to realize the dynamic jacking of box tunneling, and the numerical simulation method of box tunneling excavation is established. Using this method, the stratum of box tunneling excavation is numerically simulated, and the effects of friction coefficient, internal friction angle and cohesion on stratum deformation are studied. The numerical results show that in the process of box tunneling, the soil in front of the tunnel is uplifted and the rear is settled. After the box tunneling construction is completed, the surface presents overall settlement laterally and is symmetrical about the central axis of the box tunneling. The surface deformation is directly proportional to the friction force and inversely proportional to the internal friction angle and cohesion of the soil. Finally, a case study is carried out to simulate a project in Suzhou by using this method, and the numerical model is verified. It is found that the numerical simulation results are consistent with the measured data.