The function and working principle of hydraulic cylinder in the propulsion system of shield machine were introduced.The hydraulic cylinder with single prop boots has the phenomenon of spin when its piston rod is extended.The bad effect of this phenomenon on the shield machine was analyzed,and the current technical solutions were introduced.The analysis shows that the existing technical solutions can not solve the phenomenon of hydraulic cylinder spin fundamentally.According to the balance mechanics principle and the characteristics of hydraulic cylinder hydrodynamic force,a solution of traction guidance and anti-spin was put forward, and the feasibility analysis was carried out through the experiment case.The results show that the proposed solution is feasible,stable,advanced and economical,and can be used to completely solve the spin phenomenon when the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder with single prop boots is extended.