•A two steps analytical approach is presented to analyze the interaction mechanics for excavation–soil–tunnels.•3D numerical analysis is conducted and the simplified analytical method can overcome complex simulation.•Galerkin’s method is used to convert the differential equation into finite element equation.•The excavation unloading effects of bottom and surrounding walls can be fully considered.•The parametric analyses are presented to investigate the effects of excavation-induced unloading on tunnels. A major challenge in the design and construction of soil excavation and foundation pit engineering in urban areas is the protection of adjacent underground structures, such as existing tunnels. Excavation-induced soil unloading can adversely affect and even damage the tunnels in the vicinity. A simplified analytical approach is presented to analyze the deformation response for adjacent tunnels due to excavation-induced soil unloading in excavation engineering. Firstly, the green soil unloading stress due to adjacent excavation is estimated at the existing tunnel location. Secondly, the deformation response of the tunnel subjected to green soil unloading stress is calculated by the Galerkin’s method, which can be used to obtain the finite element equation converted from the differential equation. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified by comparisons with 3D finite element numerical simulation, centrifuge model tests provide by Kusakabe et al. (1985) and measured data in situ. Finally, the parametric analysis for deformation influence factors of the existing tunnel, including the tunnel buried depth, the distance from the excavation site, the soil geo-characters and the outer diameter of the tunnel, is presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. This proposed method may provide certain basis to make protective measures of existing tunnels influenced by excavation engineering and enables a quick estimate of the deformation behavior of excavation-induced adjacent tunnels, resulting in savings in time and costs.