Abstract: Low-productivity shale gas wells in the late production stage are prone to have both low production and liquid loading. Existing optimization methods for intermittent production systems usually determine the shut-in and flowing durations based on experience or a single production parameter, without considering the fluid redistribution in the wellbore influence zone and the energy coupling effect of the reservoir-wellbore-fracture system during the shut-in-to-flowing transition. As a result, the system adjustment lacks a quantitative basis. To address this issue, an optimization method for intermittent production systems of low-productivity shale gas wells based on reservoir-wellbore-fracture coupling was proposed: An integrated reservoir-wellbore-fracture transient coupling model considering the wellbore influence zone and the virtual gas tank effect was established to characterize the supply capacity of the near-wellbore zone and the wellbore energy storage and release process; a transient wellbore flow model for key stages of intermittent production was developed to collaboratively predict the tubing pressure, casing pressure, and instantaneous production; a production system optimization chart with the flowing-time ratio and liquid-carrying efficiency as core parameters was constructed to quantitatively identify the flowing and shut-in systems under different operating conditions. Validation was conducted using data from 15 pilot wells in a shale gas field in western China. The results indicate that the optimized average single-well gas production increases from 8 624 m³/d to 10 662 m³/d, with an average increase of 24% and a maximum increase of 74%, and the prediction error of daily gas production is 6.94%. This method can provide a theoretical basis and field guidance for the optimization of intermittent production systems of low-productivity shale gas wells.