Abstract: The desorption and adsorption of CH₄ in shale directly affect the law of shale gas seepage, and then affect the production efficiency of shale gas wells. In order to factually reflect the rules of shale adsorption and desorption in shale gas reservoir, the study adopts shale cores (Ф50 mm×100 mm) which are capable of retaining more primitive geological structure, then exerts axial and confining pressures on shale cores, with the equipment of thermostatic water bath, then carries out the research of adsorption and desorption characteristics about shale reservoir under different temperature and stress. The results show that: (1) For the micro-fractures of shale primitive structure and its anisotropy, the adsorption isotherms of cores show "stepped" and "negative absorptive" characteristic; (2) the adsorption ability of shale particles is higher than cores, and the adsorption isotherm of it is more regular, the correlation between cores adsorption pressure and adsorption capacity is poor, which causes adsorption isotherms more complicated and sudden increase in the extreme pressure point; (3) the adsorption of methane in shale cores is priority to micropore and microfracture filling, then the macroporous monolayer adsorption is followed; (4) the theoretical model of adsorption potential is more reasonable than Langmuir model in describing the process of adsorption and desorption of cores.