The electromagnetic waves emitted by high- frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR) propagate forward in the form of ground waves. After being scattered by the detection target, the back-scattering field is still transmitted back to the HFSWR by ground wave propagation. The characteristics of propagation have important influences on the detection capability of the HFSWR. In this paper, the electric field integral equation (EFIE) of ground wave propagation on undulating earth would be solved by iterative method to obtain the numerical solution of ground wave propagation. The solution process is verified by compared with the classical theory of Fock ground wave diffraction on smooth spherical ground. Then the altitude profile data of different terrains are extracted by using Google Earth and Global Mapper, and the attenuation characteristics of high-frequency ground wave propagation under the actual propagation path conditions are calculated. The influence of ground fluctuation on ground wave propagation is analyzed.