Abstract: As the mining of coal resources continues to advance into deeper and more complex areas, coal mining faces frequent encounters with faults, which disrupt the continuity of coal seams and the stress distribution state, seriously affecting the mining process. However, the existing methods for crossing faults do not take into account the spatial constraints of the fully mechanized equipment in terms of the roof and floor, the direction of the working face advancement and cutting, as well as the loss of coal reserves. This results in low cutting efficiency, significant coal loss, and poor economic benefits when the shearer crosses faults. To address these issues, this paper proposes a method for the shearer to cross faults that integrates a coal loss model and the spatial constraints of the equipment. Firstly, based on parameters such as faults, coal seams, and equipment, a coal loss model for the shearer crossing faults is constructed, which comprehensively considers the thickness of the coal seam, the fault drop, and the adjustment capability of the equipment, providing an effective tool for accurately assessing coal loss. Secondly, a spatial constraint model for fully mechanized equipment is established based on the requirements of the fully mechanized mining process, with the attitudes of the shearer, scraper conveyor, and hydraulic supports as constraint conditions. Finally, based on the established spatial constraint model for fully mechanized equipment and the coal loss model for crossing faults, the global optimal autonomous cutting path for the shearer crossing faults is generated using the coal seam boundary tracking algorithm, with the optimization goals of high recovery rate, low rock cutting rate, and high possibility. Experimental results show that under the same coal seam thickness and equipment parameters, the smaller the fault drop and the stronger the equipment adjustment capability, the less coal loss and the better the possibility. The application in a coal mine in Shanxi Province has demonstrated that the proposed algorithm can ensure the minimum coal loss, minimum rock inclusion, and safe and efficient passage when the shearer crosses faults.