Research focuses on Guiyang City, a typical karst city in southwestern China, as the study area, where historical collapse data were collected and compiled. Through field investigations and statistical analysis of collapse case data, the spatial distribution patterns of karst collapses in Guiyang, along with their regional, site-specific, and individual geological models and genetic mechanisms, were systematically explored. The results indicate that karst collapses in Guiyang are primarily controlled by faults, surface water, and the degree of karst development. The higher the degree of karst development, the more frequent the collapses. Within a range of 0–2000?m, surface water is the dominant controlling factor for karst collapses, while faults serve as secondary factors. The regional collapse model is characterized as "karst?+?structure?+?underground river." Site-specific models include groundwater extraction type, underground engineering construction type, pipeline leakage type, animal burrowing type, and plant root growth type. Individual collapse models mainly consist of solution groove type, fissure type, pipeline type, and cave type. The collapse process can be summarized as: changes in groundwater seepage erosion conditions → soil structure damage → material loss → soil cavity expansion → multiple influencing factors → collapse. The three-level geological model proposed in this study can be applied to the risk zoning of karst collapses, the avoidance of engineering site selection, and the formulation of targeted prevention and control measures in Guiyang City. The quantified distance thresholds of controlling factors can provide a quantitative reference for collapse early warning and identification of karst collapses in similar karst cities in Southwest China, and promote the level of karst collapse prevention and control in karst cities of this region.