Abstract: Rock burst is a typical dynamic disaster in deep coal mining. The complexity of its mechanism makes the relevant theories present multiple perspectives, and it still faces many challenges in explaining the impact process under special conditions such as gob-side entry. Inspired by the “self-instability” mode of rock burst, this paper summarizes the essential difference between rock burst and its failure mechanism, and puts forward the theoretical conception of driving instability of rock burst, aiming to reveal the essential mechanism of rock burst under the condition of deep high stress in the gob-side entry. The core of this theory is to clarify that rock burst is not “self-instability”, but a driving instability process in which “bearing body” and “impact body” are separated. Under the superposition of dynamic and static loads, the bearing body undergoes instability and expansion, resulting in a huge radial driving force, which promotes the shallow impact body to be thrown violently into the roadway space. The physical model and mechanical description of the driving instability theory of rock burst are systematically constructed, and the criterion of rock burst based on surrounding rock partition and friction constraint is proposed. Combined with the engineering case of a mine in Shandong Province, the validity of the theory is verified by theoretical calculation and numerical simulation. The research shows that by optimizing the width of coal pillar, the structure of surrounding rock can be regulated and the lateral constraint can be enhanced, so as to inhibit the impact initiation. This study provides a new theoretical framework for the understanding and prevention of rock burst mechanism under deep complex geological conditions.