The organic-rich shale of the Shanxi and Taiyuan Formation of the Lower Permian deposited in a marine-continental transitional environment are well developed in the Ordos Basin, NW China, which is considered to contain a large amount of shale hydrocarbon resources. This study takes the Lower Permian Shanxi and Taiyuan shale collected from well SL# in the Ordos Basin, NW China as an example to characterize the transitional shale reservoir. Based on organic geochemistry data, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) observations, the desorbed gas contents of this transitional shale were systematically studied and the shale gas potential was investigated. The results indicate that the Lower Permian Shanxi and Taiyuan shale has a relatively high total organic carbon (TOC) (average TOC of 4.9%) and contains type III kerogen with a high mature to over mature status. XRD analyses show that an important characteristic of the shale is that clay and brittle minerals of detrital origin comprise the major mineral composition of the marine-continental transitional shale samples, while the percentages of carbonate minerals, pyrite and siderite are relatively small. FE-SEM observations reveal that the mineral matrix pores are the most abundant in the Lower Permian shale samples, while organic matter (OM) pores are rarely developed. Experimental analysis suggests that the mineral compositions mainly govern the macropore development in the marine-continental transitional shale, and mineral matrix pores and microfractures are considered to provide space for gas storage and migration. In addition, the desorption experiments demonstrated that the marine-continental transitional shale in the Ordos Basin has a significantly potential for shale gas exploration, ranging from 0.53 to 2.86 m3/t with an average value of 1.25m3/t, which is in close proximity to those of terrestrial shale (1.29 m3/t) and marine shale (1.28 m3/t). In summary, these results demonstrated that the Lower Permian marine-continental transitional shale in the Ordos Basin has a significantly potential for shale gas exploration.