Abstract: Elastic modulus is an important parameter for sweet-spot discovery in shale gas exploration and development, and also an significant index to determine hydraulic fracturing effect. It is very difficult for conventional experiment method of rock mechanics to measure elasticity features of shale due to its extremely high brittleness. To predict elastic modulus, up-to-date digital petrophysical method combined with scanning electron microscope imaging, quantitative mineral component determination of shale and finite element numerical simulation is used. Based on modeling the stress-strain response process of digital shale cores in the range of linear elasticity, effective elastic parameters of the digital cores can be calculated. Through comparison of the modeling calculation results of the calculated areas with different sizes, the sampling by this method is verified to be representative. The comparison of modeling calculation results and the actual logging data can also prove the effectiveness of the method