A series of physical model tests is performed to investigate the influence of shield tunneling on adjacent underground pipelines based on a particular section of Shanghai Metro Line 11. The scaling law of the model tests is firstly derived using the dimensional analysis method; based on which the shield machine and the tunnel models are designed. Then stiffness tests are carried out to determine the model pipelines that meet the scaling criterion. The fuzzy judgment approach is used to determine the ingredient of model material. The testing results are then compared with some theoretical solutions. It is shown that the self-developed shield tunneling apparatus can effectively simulate the excavation process with a smaller disturbance to the ground in comparison to manual excavation. The vertical deformation of pipelines caused by shield tunneling presents a symmetrical distribution about the tunnel axis which can be approximated by Gaussian curves. The maximum pipeline deformation is located directly above the tunnel axis

and the inflection point is located about twice the tunnel diameter horizontally away from the tunnel axis. The influence of tunneling process on pipelines decreases and the inflection point moves inwards with the increasing distance between the tunnels and pipelines. It is also shown that the effect of the pipeline stiffness on vertical deformation is relatively small.