Abstract: Due to the complicated conditions of construction, the process of drilling of pilot bore, reaming and backtow remain invisible. When directional drilling crossing is under construction, the risks of mud spillover, pipe stuck, drilling failure often occur, and improper control measures will have major negative influence on the whole project construction. According to the directional drilling crossing river of a gas pipeline, all risk factors affecting directional drilling are discussed, and in view of potential risk sources, detailed risk control measures are established, mainly including optimization of construction procedure and drilling assembly, and determining mud parameters suitable for geological conditions, strict direction control of drilling trace and adopting measures to reduce pipe sticking. These measures have made a success in crossing underground coarse sand, avoiding the deficiency of push and pull force, pipe locking and large-scale of mud spillover and ensuring the smooth implementation of directional drilling construction work, which provides references to the future similar project construction.