Large-scale high-rise reinforced concrete cooling tower belongs to typical wind-sensitive structure. In recent years, study on dynamic response under extreme external actions, such as earthquake, jet-crash, blasting et. al gets extensive concern in engineering field. Research on earthquake response influence for projects like dams, bridges and so on taking into account soil structure dynamic interaction is relatively abundant, however it is seldom involved in cooling tower. Based on elastic wave motion theory combined with finite element method, 3D viscous-spring artificial boundary model and formula were set up and deduced while considering soil structure dynamic interaction, and verify the accuracy of the earthquake input method through half space free field model. A large cooling tower in coal-fired power plant in domestic engineering project as the research background, based on general program ANSYS platform, cooling tower rigid foundation model, massless foundation model and viscoelastic artificial boundary model were modeled respectively. Modal analysis and elastic time history analysis were performed in order to study dynamic characteristics and changes of internal force, influence law of soil structure dynamic interaction for the different model was discussed. Research results show that the cooling tower structure system natural vibration frequency distribution is very dense, and the vast majority of vibration modes are local coupling vibration mode in ring and meridian directions. The natural vibration frequencies are reduced due to considering elastic foundation, and the whole vibration mode appear earlier. Through time history analysis it can be seen that by using the viscous-spring artificial boundary model, considering the infinite foundation radiation damping effect, compared with the rigid foundation model, the maximum absolute acceleration of tower reduces to 43.4%. Moment and axial force in meridian direction reduces 50%, and in ring direction increases significantly. Internal force amplitude value for X columns reduces about 20%~50%. Therefore, when performed the earthquake response analysis of cooling tower, it cannot be neglected influence of soil structure interaction.