Understanding the properties of sedimentary rock shale is critical for wellbore stability and hydraulic fracturing design in unconventional shale gas extraction. The mechanical properties of shale are a function of various environmental factors, such as stress, temperature, saturation and loading rate. Thus, in this study, the loading rate effect on the mechanical behavior of shale using nanoindentation was investigated. Nanoindentation tests were performed at a peak load of 500 mN and loading rates of 5-30 mN/s. In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed to identify the composition of the selected shales, and reveal the target sample is brittle. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were performed to determine the surface morphology and demonstrate the existence of pile up and sink-in events. The results of the nanoindentation study indicate that the material behavior of rock depends on the loading rate at the nanoscale: with the increase in the loading rate, the contact hardness, Young's modulus, yield stress and indentation shear stress gradually increase. However, final penetration depths, the contact penetration depths, the maximum penetration depths and the contact stiffness decrease with increasing loading rates. Pop-ins were imperceptible at both the low and high loading rates, reflecting that the shale is brittle. Comparison of the pressure hardening coefficient in the elastic plastic yield criterion model and the strain hardening coefficient in the strain rate sensitivity model indicates that shale is more sensitive to pressure hardening than strain hardening. A discussion regarding the uncertainty of evaluating the mechanical properties via nanoindentation indicates that the contact surface determination and the loading rate control are both critical to obtain a meaningful value for the mechanical parameters. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.