In order to research cutting performance of cotton stalk for giving technical support and theoretical basis of the development of cotton stalk harvester, a crank-connecting rod cotton stalk cutting test bench was designed which could simulate the cutting harvest of cotton stalk with regardless of row. The feed conveying speed and the cutting speed of cotton stalk were regulated from 0 to 2m/s and the cutting angle was adjusted from 0° to 15°. The working performance of prototype and the cutting properties of cotton stalk were investigated. The results indicated that the peak of cutter resistance increased with the increase of the average cutting speed and the change of average cutting speed had no effect on the power consumption of cutter resistance in a working cycle when the cutting test bench was under no load running. In addition, the peak of cotton stalk cutting force and the power consumption that the unit cotton stalk was cut decreased with the increase of average cutting speed in the process of cutting cotton stalk.