This empirical study of behavioural observation with a verbal report attempts to understand the process of map-reading for purposes of wayfinding in a subway station at Taipei in Taiwan. Subjects were required to find the shortest way in reaching an exit via three manners - without a map, aided by 2D, and 3D map. The results indicated that the design of underground space maps should support a direction and floor wayfinding strategy, plus the selection of a suitable angle of vision.. Important considerations include marking the nearest exit, marking scale, intensifying wall performance, and clarifying the discrimination of different floors and areas. Keywords: subway station, map-reading, map design, wayfinding. © 2017 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Malaysia.