The aim of the present contribution is to demonstrate the importance of considering transversely isotropic material behavior of layered rock mass in the context of numerical simulations of tunnel advance by comparing the predicted deformation and stress states with the results from numerical simulations using isotropic material models with averaged material properties. Transversely isotropic material behavior is taken into account according to Boehler’s approach by projecting the physical stress into a mapped stress, entering the originally isotropic yield surface. It results in a modified yield surface accounting for transversely isotropic material behavior. In the presented numerical simulations it is shown that by considering transversely isotropic elastic-plastic material behavior considerably larger values of stress peaks are predicted in the directions of the higher material strength compared to the application of an isotropic elastic-plastic material model with averaged material properties.