This research aims to study the deformation and fracture behavior of shale by a novel anisotropic regular lattice spring model (ARLSM). The novel ARLSM applies the normal and tangential coupling spring to release the Poisson's ratio limitation in the traditional regular lattice spring model. Meanwhile, a nonlinear strength criterion is introduced into ARLSM to simulate the fracture failure of shale. Two benchmark problems are tested to implement the research. The study shows that ARLSM has larger range of Poisson's ratio and better effects comparing with the existing anisotropic lattice spring model. Moreover, ARLSM can accurately predict the deformation and fracture behavior of shale under different conditions.