The high salt content of Fengcheng Formation in Mahu leads to high operating pressures, difficulty in fracture propagation when penetrating salt layers, and increased difficulty in adding proppant. True triaxial fracturing experiments are carried out on equivalent salt-bearing rock samples prepared according to similarity criteria, and fracture propagation in salt-bearing reservoirs is numerically simulated using the finite element and cohesive element methods. The influence of salt content, viscosity, pump rate, and other factors on fracture propagation is explored. The results show that the fracture opening pressure of salt-bearing reservoirs is greater than that of conventional sandstone reservoirs, and their plasticity is stronger. The existence of pure salt interlayers hinders the longitudinal propagation of fractures. The lower the fluid viscosity , the stronger the dissolution of the salt-bearing reservoir and the lower the operating pressure. The higher the pump rate, the higher the fracturing friction and the operating pressure. In field, high viscosity fluid (120 mPa·s) with clean water and high pump rate （5 m3/min per single cluster） have been adopted to achieve effective penetration into pure salt barriers and form wider fractures. These results have important guiding significance for the stimulation of salt-bearing reservoirs in Mahu area.
