Abstract: Reed harvesting has been confined to the high labor intensity of manual picking reed and muddy working environment in recent years. In this study, a self-propelled crawler reed harvester was developed with high stability suitable for mechanized picking in the wetland. Four components were composed of the picking, lifting, collecting modules, and self-propelled crawler chassis. The machine was utilized to realize the automatic picking and collection of reeds. A diesel engine was selected to drive the whole machine. The transmission system was divided into mechanical and hydraulic parts. The mechanical transmission was used to move and collect the longitudinal transmission power, whereas, the hydraulic transmission provided the power adjustment of the picking device, transverse collection speed regulation, and lifting module. Firstly, the synchronous belt traction and towing picking device were designed, according to the stress characteristics of reed picking. The specific operational parameters were included: the pitch angle was adjustable from 0 to 60°, and the maximum ground clearance of the front end was 400 mm, and the picking width was 876 mm. At the same time, the picking device was equipped with a variable amplitude lifting module, where the lifting height was up to 200 mm from the ground for the passing performance and operation. A conveying and collecting device of reed shoots was then designed, according to the biological characteristics of the reed. Specifically, the belt speed was 0.5 m/s for the longitudinal conveying device, while, 1 m/s for the transverse collecting device. Finally, a self-propelled crawler chassis was designed with a supporting power of 13.3 kW, according to the distribution of each module and transmission relationship. The power and driving performance of the whole machine were calculated to determine the power demand of the full load. The transverse and longitudinal limit inclination and transverse slip angles were obtained for the driving requirements in the lake area. The picking test showed that the picking efficiency, damage rate, and missing mining rate were 71 kg/h, 8%, and 7.6%, respectively. The driving performance of the whole machine was stable with 0-9 km/h driving speed range, while, the height adjustment range of the front end of the picking device from the ground was 0-638 mm, suitable for the terrain to pick shoots. The maximum longitudinal depression angle, elevation, and transverse tipping angle of the whole machine were 50°, 63°, and 45° respectively, whereas, the longitudinal and transverse limit slip angles were 42° and 38°, respectively, indicating the excellent wetland trafficability and stability. The finding can provide reliable technical support to the structural optimization and intelligent upgrading of self-propelled reed shoot harvester.