The invention discloses a cable stripper, which comprises upper and lower stripper bodies hinged through a pin shaft, wherein a stripper head and a stripper handle are formed at the front and rear ends of a hinge point of the upper and lower stripper bodies respectively; vertical blades for circumferentially stripping a cable are fixedly arranged on the two inner sides of the stripper head or the stripper handle respectively; the vertical blades fixedly arranged on the stripper head of the upper and lower stripper bodies are arranged in a relative shearing manner or the vertical blades fixedly arranged on the stripper handle of the upper and lower stripper bodies are arranged in the relative shearing manner. The invention further discloses a stripping method for the cable stripper. By the method, the cable can be circumferentially and axially stripped, and length stripping of the cable can also be implemented through a guide groove or a mounting hole in a connecting piece. The method further comprises adjusting an adjusting bolt or a stud or a limiting block to implement depth stripping of the cable. The cable stripper and the method are simple in structure, convenient to operate and high in efficiency, and can be applied to cables with various diameters, circumferential and axial stripping can be implemented, even a stripping depth and length can be adjusted, and contact between a tool edge and a cable core can be warned to protect the cable core.