Abstract:Factors that should be taken into account in shield selection were analyzed and the flow-chart of shield selection was established in this paper. The cutting mechanism of cutterhead was also described. Then,one of shield advancing cases of Guangzhou metro No.2 was illustrated to describe the shield selection and ground adaptability. The conclusions were that full face disc cutters are not suitable for completely weathered rock No.6 and No.8 but suitable for slightly weathered rock No.9 with advancing speed 0.5 mm/d and 2~4 mm/d respectively. On the contrary,the full face rip teeth cutters are suitable for rocks No.6 and No.8,and not for slightly weathered rock No.9,with the advancing speed 8~10 mm/d and 4~7 mm/d,respectively.