Through Brazilian tests and PFC numerical simulations, [PERSON] et al. found that the layer orientation and interlaminar cohesion of marine shale have significant effects on the fracture strength and fracture mode; an increase in interlaminar cohesion reduces the number of microcracks and directly leads to a reduction in anisotropic behavior [2]. [PERSON] et al. have preliminarily confirmed the consistency of the fracture morphology of marine shale with the spatial distribution of AE signals through the Brazilian tests and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring. At the same time, they have observed that the fracture modes and AE characteristics of marine shale were greatly affected by different stratified angles [3]. [PERSON] et al. found, through the Brazilian tests, that the tensile strength, splitting modulus, and other mechanical parameters of marine shale have obvious anisotropy characteristics, and they further verified that the anisotropy of the failure mode of marine shale changes significantly with layer orientation [4]. Microcracks induced by stress have a significant effect on mechanical properties of continental shale, a typical brittle rock. The connection of microcracks leads to macroscopic fracture. Stress-induced microcracks usually include tensile cracks and shear cracks. In addition, the greater the number of tensile cracks is, the greater the number of shear cracks. Shear cracks are the main cause of rocks fracturing and crushing [5]. [PERSON] et al. carried out the Brazilian tests on the organic-rich continental shale in the Sichuan Basin, China, where the lamination plane was perpendicular or parallel to the loading direction. They found the tensile strength of different depths showed a high degree of dispersion, and it shows a very strong anisotropy in the longitudinal section [6]. [PERSON] et al. used the miniature tensile instrument-light microscope (MTI-LM) real-time loading-observation-acquisition test system to carry out uniaxial compression tests on continental shale. They found the meso-compressive strength, failure time, and fracture surface roughness are consistent with the change of the lamination angle. The homogeneous mineral composition and structure make the shale produce different sizes and numbers of rock bridges during the compression failure process, which may be the internal reason for the anisotropy of rock mesomechanics in shale [7]. Brittleness is a critical parameter for risk analysis of rock explosion and stability of the borehole-wall in the shale gas industry. It is also vital in the design of hydraulic fracturing and many other rock engineering applications [8]. Although preliminary explorations have been made on the anisotropy of continental shales, it is still unclear whether the anisotropy characteristics, fracture mode, and fracture mechanism of continental shales are consistent with those of marine shales, due to the great differences between marine and continental shales in structure and mechanical properties. Based on the above analysis, this paper mainly studies the effect of layer orientation on the mechanical properties, fracture mode, and fracture mechanism of continental shale by carrying out the Brazilian splitting acoustic emission test. This will be helpful to indirectly characterize the propagation characteristics of hydraulic fractures during the hydraulic fracturing process.