In response to the problem of water cut rising rapidly during the development of horizontal wells, a system of 3-D physical model for horizontal wells in reservoirs with bottom water is established. The position and development process of water crest are studied, which include many factors such as pressure loss along the wellbore, well track changes and reservoir heterogeneity. Results of the study indicates that the wellbore pressure drop has significant impact on the water crest, which causes the water cresting at the heel end of the well and breaking through earlier obviously. The well track changes and reservoir heterogeneity are both sensible factor to the water crest, which determines the water crest position combined with wellbore pressure drop. The bottom water tends to break through at the concave down part of the horizontal well. If the concave down part appears near the heel end of the well, one water crest will form at the heel with less swept area. While when the concave down part appears far away from the heel end, there would be several water crests in the model with more swept area. Bottom water will break through at the higher permeability part in the heterogeneous model.While putting the heel end at the lower permeability area would make the water crest distribute on the horizontal plane. The development of water crest influences the performance after water breakthrough. A concave down part adjacent to the heel end can accelerate the progress of the water crest, which leads to the earliest breakthrough time and fastest water cut rising. A concave down part that departs from the heel end can make the water crest grow slower. Reservoir heterogeneity accelerates the water cresting. While fixing heel end at the lower permeability area offsets the negative effect of heterogeneity, which may postpone the breakthrough time and lower the water cut rising.