Abstract: To adapt to the belt structure of underground tunnels and extend the life of the monitoring system, we propose a routing protocol in mine roadways based on area positive clustering and mobile nodes (RPAPC-MN). In this algorithm, an area positive clustering mechanism is applied to avoid data reentry, and nodes on workers and equipment are applied to transmit data, both of which can reduce energy consumption and prolong system life. Simulation result shows that the area positive clustering mechanism and the use of mobile nodes can reduce energy consumption and extend system life effectively. In underground tunnel environments, the lifetime of RPAPC-MN algorithm is 10.4% longer than that of the energy-balance unequalclustering routing(EBUCR) protocol and 15.6% longer than that of the energy-efficient unequal clustering (EEUC) scheme.