Abstract: Coal mining with water protection is an inevitable choice for the sustainable development of ecologically fragile mining areas. The study and application of coal mining with water protection is an urgent problem to be solved in coal development planning,construction and production in northwest China. Taking Yushen mining area in northern Shaanxi Province as an example,this paper studies the types of water-preserved coal mining coalmines in combination with the quantity distribution of shallow water resources (water-preserved coal mining target seam) and the impact of coal mining on shallow water resources. Firstly,the spatial occurrence structure characteristics of eco-water-coal meas- ures strata in the study area are analyzed. Also,the eco-geological environment types for the purpose of water-preserved coal mining are proposed,which are divided into oasis type with phreatic water and bottomland in desert,oasis type with surface water and valley river,loess gully type with surface runoff,and regional deep groundwater enrichment type. Secondly,the distribution of total storage per unit area of shallow water resources is calculated and determined. Then,based on the influence degree of coal mining on ecological layer and shallow water,four types of environmental engineering geological patterns (basically unaffected model,gradually restored model after destruction,gradually dete- riorated model and disaster model) are proposed. Based on the analysis of the key indicators affecting the division of environmental engineering geological patterns,including the height of the water-flowing fractured zone and the mining water-resisting of residual aquiclude,etc. ,the zoning threshold and determination method for environmental engineer- ing geological patterns is established. Finally,based on the distribution characteristics of shallow water resources and environmental engineering geological patterns,the grade types of water-preserved coal mining coalmines are put for- ward for the first time,which is divided into normal mining mine,water-preserved coal mining first-class mine,water- preserved coal mining second-class mine and water-preserved coal mining third-class mine.