Abstract: Aiming at the problems of abnormal driving parameters (the average advance rate is 6~10 mm/min. and the max. torque of a cutterhead is up to 3 200 kN·m) and the formation of clay cakes and mud pies during shield construction in argillaceous siltstone stratum, a specific design for the configuration of the cutterhead and cutting tools is proposed in terms of the cutterhead opening ratio, cutting tool layout and cutter height optimization based on the Nanchang rail transit line 1 in order to reduce the possibility of developing a clay cake. Based on an analysis of the operating principles of the slurry shield flushing system, an optimized design scheme is put forward by taking the geological characteristics into consideration. The engineering application results show that the advance rate of an optimized shield can reach 20 mm/min. and the total torque can be controlled within 2 000 kN·m, which meets the requirements for engineering construction.