A multi-attribute comprehensive decision model was constructed,which based on AHP-VWT-TOPSIS,to meet the requirements of scientific optimization of mining methods for gently inclined thin orebody.The variable weight theory(VWT)was used to avoid the"state imbalance"problem of the constant weight vector determined by the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)method,and then combined with technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution(TOPSIS)to obtain the superiority of each solution and select the optimal mining method.Taking a gold mine in Guizhou as an example,combined with the actual mining situation,three suitable mining schemes were proposed.From the three levels of economy,technology and safety,13 evaluation indexes were selected to construct a multi-attribute comprehensive decision matrix for mining method optimization.Through the established comprehensive decision making model,the comprehensive superior degrees of the three schemes are 0.2132,0.4913 and 0.5802,respectively,and it is decided to adopt the scheme 3,that is the hydraulic prop roof protection wall caving method.The optimization results are in line with the engineering reality,and the application effect shows that the comprehensive decision model has a certain engineering application value for optimization of mining methods.