The present invention discloses a drive system of a scraper conveyor and a control method. The drive system includes a nose sprocket, a tail sprocket, a nose sprocket drive mechanism, and a tail sprocket drive mechanism, where the nose sprocket drive mechanism is a hydraulic motor I, and the tail sprocket drive mechanism is a hydraulic motor II; and a hydraulic system that drives the hydraulic motor I and a hydraulic system that drives the hydraulic motor II include same hydraulic elements, and both include a three-position four-way solenoid directional valve, a two-position two-way solenoid directional valve, a two-position three-way solenoid directional valve, an accumulator, and an oil supplement valve group. The present invention is applicable to rapid starting and stopping of the scraper conveyor in a heavy load status while adjusting chain tension in real time, thereby resolving a power imbalance problem in a dual-drive system, and has a simple structure and a long service life.