Abstract: The cutter system of shield machine is the important component to ensure the shield construction, and the selection of cutter configuration depends on strata conditions where the shield machine performs tunneling operation. In this paper, the Beijiang shield project of Second West-to-East Gas Pipeline was taken as an example for study. This project is characterized by typical argillaceous sandstone. The cutter configuration of the shield machine was investigated based on this characteristic. Then, the cutting principles of cutters and their differences were analyzed. Finally, finite element simulation was conducted on the cutting principles of cutter systems. The engineering practice shows that after configuration optimization of cutter system, the mud cake is reduced, comprehensive shield tunneling efficiency of shield machine in argillaceous sandstone strata is increased by 12%, the service life of cutter is prolonged and the engineering cost and risk are decreased. To sum up, the cutter configuration is rational.