Started from the boundary value problem of borehole-to-surface resistivity method,the 3D numerical simulation of borehole-to-surface resistivity method with finite element method is realized,while the analytic algorithm of horizontal derivative for abnormal electric potential is given.The horizontal derivatives of abnormal potential from 3D abnormal body models are calculated in various different situations,and a detailed analysis on various influence factors associated the extreme values of horizontal derivatives with abnormal body boundaries is conducted.When the abnormal bodies are buried in different depths,the abnormal response signals of deeper abnormal body is extremely weak,and the bounding outline of abnormal response is unclear.So we introduce the normalized total horizontal derivative method which can enhance the response characteristics of the deeper abnormal body to some extent.