Abstract: Although the characteristics of ground settlement without buildings are definite, further researches are still needed on the characteristics of settlement with buildings. Such researches have more theoretical significance and engineering application value. Therefore, based on the particular strata and shallow foundation buildings as research conditions, three-dimensional numerical models are established by means of FLAC^3D to comparatively study the settlement characteristics of strata and buildings under the conditions without or with buildings so as to reveal their settlement characteristics at different spatial positions and to discuss the safety control standards for building settlement caused by metro tunneling. Through a project example, the analysis shows that the numerical simulations and the measured results are in good consistency, and it will provide technical support for the safety assessment of metro tunneling.