Abstract: Though the shield tunnelling method is mainly used in metro construction, to a certain extent it affects the existing buildings that are adjacent to the construction site. There is a little research on surface settlement induced by shield tunnelling adjacent to buildings, and the impacts of adjacent buildings and different stiffnesses on the settlement distribution curve are not considered when settlement is predicted using the“Peck” empirical formula. The law of soil deformation caused by shield tunnelling adjacent to buildings is analyzed and it is found that when the surface settlement varies in a cork-shaped distribution curve, skewed distribution curve and normal distribution curve, it indicates that the tunnel is constructed under buildings, within and beyond the disturbance range, respectively. The calculation formulas and relative parameters for a cork-shaped distribution curve and skewed distribution curve are given in this paper. By analyzing calculation examples, the applicability of the surface settlement distribution forms of cork-shaped, skewed and normal curves is verified regarding shield tunnelling at different positions in relation to adjacent buildings.