Field direct shearing tests on Gobi gavel soil are carried out in Xinjiang and Gansu province, where the shear characteristics and strength parameters are discussed. It is indicated that the Gobi gravel soil is of great shear capacity, of which the shear process under normal stress could be described as three stages including elastic deformation, elastic-plastic deformation to peak strength and strength demineralization to residual strength. The mean value, standard deviation and coefficient of variability for the internal friction angle of Gobi gravel soil are 40.6°~43.6°, 3.4°~10.3°and 0.003~0.253, while those for cohesive strength are 10.5~23.0 kPa, 1.2~7.3 kPa and 0.12~0.33 respectively. Moreover, the standard deviation and coefficient of variability for cohesive strength increase with increasing mean value. The results obtained in this paper can provide references for engineering application and optimized design in Gobi areas.