In shearing processing experiments of copper sheet of 0.5mm thick, The effects of shear clearance on shearing surface morphology, edge hardening and shearing force are studied. The results show that the shear clearance directly affects the shearing surface morphology and the degree of work hardening. With the increase of the shear clearance, the height of shearing zone decreases gradually, but the height of the fracture zone, rollover and burr increase gradually. The degree and area of work hardening increase initially and then decrease, when the relative clearance (c/t) is 8%, the hardness value and depth of work hardening reach the maximum value. The shearing surface morphology is closely related to the work hardening. Along rollover side to the burr side, the hardness value increases initially and then decreases, and the maximum work hardening value occurs at the border region between the shearing zone and the fracture zone.