<p>Horizontal sublevel top coal caving mining is one of the main mining methods for steeply inclined thick coal seams. Due to the limitation of geological conditions, the amount of coal loss at both ends of the panel is large, and the loss of top coal increases sharply with the increase of the height of the panel. Therefore, based on the engineering background of the nearly vertical thick coal seam in Wudong Coal Mine, this paper investigates the influence mechanism of roadway position on the top coal caving characteristics by means of field measurements and numerical simulations, and proposes a fully drawing technology at the panel end. The results show that, as the two roadways gradually approach the rock strata, the left side of the initial top coal boundary shifts downward toward the coal seam floor as a whole. After the completion of coal drawing, the right initial top coal boundary changes from a semi-enclosed shape to a quasi-horizontal shape, the volume of the initial top coal drawing body decreases linearly, and the top coal recovery rate gradually increases. Under the full-coal-roadway layout, the proposed end fully drawing technology leads to a rapid initial increase followed by a steady increase in the top coal recovery rate in the transition-support zone and the end area with increasing gangue mixed ratio. The reasonable gangue mixed ratio threshold for the full drawing process is about 10%, which can increase the top coal recovery in the upper transition-support zone and the end area by 6.94% and 7.96%, respectively. Furthermore, when combined with the reverse drawing process at the panel end, the recovery of coal loss at both ends of the panel can be significantly improved. The results provide on-site guidance for reducing coal loss in horizontal sublevel top coal caving panels of steeply inclined extra-thick coal seams and for improving the overall top coal recovery of the panel.</p>