Abstract: To design and optimize the parameters of separation equipment for rind, pith and leaf of corn stalk, tensile and shearing characteristics of rind of corn stalk were studied via quadratic orthogonal rotatory combination design in this paper. General effects of moisture content, sampling height and shearing speed on the tensile/shear strength of rind of corn stalk were studied by experiments. The results of data analysis reveal that when the moisture content is about 30%, the tensile strength of rind of corn stalk at the bottom part close to the soil reaches the maximum value of 67.2 MPa. Within the two model factors, the impact of sampling height on the tensile strength is significant. Among the three factors, the shearing speed and moisture content are significant factors on the shear strength of rind of corn stalk, while the sampling height is not significant.