A content sharing method, comprising: receiving, by a network storage system, a shared content access request sent by an user receiving shared content, wherein the shared content access request carries an ID of the user receiving the shared content, and a contentID of a shared node, the shared node is a file, and the shared content is content comprised in the shared node; authenticating, by the network storage system, the access request of the user receiving the shared content; acquiring, by the network storage system, a lower-layer storage path of the shared node according to the contentID of the shared node, wherein the lower-layer storage path of the shared node comprises an absolute physical storage path in the network storage system where the shared node is stored; providing, by the network storage system, shared content to the user receiving the shared content according to the lower-layer storage path of the shared node after the authentication succeeds; and before receiving the shared content access request, further comprising: organizing, by the network storage system, a directory tree in the following way: allocating a contentID unique in the network storage system for each node in the network storage system; associating the contentID with organization information of the each node, wherein the organization information comprises a parentContentID of the each node, a contentName of the each node, wherein the parentContentID is a contentID of a parent directory of the each node, the each node is a directory or a file, and wherein, for a node which is a file, organization information further comprises an ID of a physical file corresponding to the node which is a file, wherein the ID of the physical file corresponds to a lower-layer storage path in the network storage system. receiving, by a network storage system, a shared content access request sent by an user receiving shared content, wherein the shared content access request carries an ID of the user receiving the shared content, and a contentID of a shared node, the shared node is a file, and the shared content is content comprised in the shared node; authenticating, by the network storage system, the access request of the user receiving the shared content; acquiring, by the network storage system, a lower-layer storage path of the shared node according to the contentID of the shared node, wherein the lower-layer storage path of the shared node comprises an absolute physical storage path in the network storage system where the shared node is stored; providing, by the network storage system, shared content to the user receiving the shared content according to the lower-layer storage path of the shared node after the authentication succeeds; and before receiving the shared content access request, further comprising: organizing, by the network storage system, a directory tree in the following way: allocating a contentID unique in the network storage system for each node in the network storage system; associating the contentID with organization information of the each node, wherein the organization information comprises a parentContentID of the each node, a contentName of the each node, wherein the parentContentID is a contentID of a parent directory of the each node, the each node is a directory or a file, and wherein, for a node which is a file, organization information further comprises an ID of a physical file corresponding to the node which is a file, wherein the ID of the physical file corresponds to a lower-layer storage path in the network storage system. allocating a contentID unique in the network storage system for each node in the network storage system; associating the contentID with organization information of the each node, wherein the organization information comprises a parentContentID of the each node, a contentName of the each node, wherein the parentContentID is a contentID of a parent directory of the each node, the each node is a directory or a file, and wherein, for a node which is a file, organization information further comprises an ID of a physical file corresponding to the node which is a file, wherein the ID of the physical file corresponds to a lower-layer storage path in the network storage system.