Abstract: Problem of vibration in adjacent buildings caused by subway train operation have become increasingly prominent. For new buildings around existing lines with vibration control requirements, vibration reduction optimization design can be carried out from the perspective of building foundation forms. A scaled physical model test method is adopted, using an excitation motor to simulate the vibration load generated by subway train operation, to study the dynamic response characteristics of soil and buildings under raft foundation, box foundation, pile foundation, and composite foundation conditions. The test results show that the soil vibration response caused by subway operation generally shows a decreasing trend along the depth direction, but there is a vibration amplification zone near the ground surface. The presence of piles has a good effect on suppressing the vibration of the soil inside the foundation. Under pile foundation and composite foundation conditions, the vibration acceleration level of the soil below the building is reduced by 6.76dB and 6.47dB respectively compared with the raft foundation. When new buildings around subway lines are sensitive to vibration, the research method and results can provide a reference for subway vibration control design.