In order to explore the stability failure mechanism of reinforced concrete pipes during jacking in soft soil stratum and the influencing laws of various factors, a method for determining the pipe instability considering the pipe-soil contact state, pipe deflection, jacking force, buoyancy and slurry pressure was proposed through theoretical analysis. The applicability of this method was verified based on the field test data of the Tangxun Lake pipe jacking project in Wuhan. In addition, the effe