Abstract: In order to improve the reliability of cooperative spectrum sensingin wireless sensor networks and reduce the impact of shadow fading, a maximum reliability sensor selection algorithm(MRSSA)is proposed. MRSSA considering the detection probability and false alarm probability, the spatial correlation was introduced to ensure that the sensor nodes are less redundant and evenly distributed. The optimal solution output will be selected according to the energy constraints of the current node.The simulation results show MRSSA improves the reliability of spectrum sensing effectively. In the case of non-uniform sensor distribution, the anti-shadow fading interference capability is significantly improved.