Abstract: The stress field structure in roadway surrounding rock has an important influence on the deformation and failure of roadway. In order to represent the str ess field structure in roadway surrounding rock, a method was put forward which useing principal stress trajectories to visualize stress field. Consequently, the stress fie Id structure was represented by the position and types of the degenerate points in the principal stress trajectories diagram and the distribution of dominant principal stre ss trajectories bundle. Numerical simulation was carried out for different lateral pressure coefficient and strata combination of roadway, and the principal stress trajector ies were drawn by hand according to the simulation results. The varying pattern of the stress field structure was summarized, and the relationship between stress field s tructure and rock failure characteristics was also derived. The results showed that stress trajectories were an effective method to represent the stress field structure of r oadway surrounding rock, there was an explicit relationship between the failure of roadway surrounding rock and the structure of stress field. These research findings pr ovided a new approach for the establishment of roadway surrounding rock control theory.