A new simple and accurate method is presented for calibrating the measurement sensitivity of the developed phase-shifting shadow moiré system with adjustable measurement sensitivity. Firstly, the illumination angle can be changed to adjust the moiré contour intervals, and the measurement sensitivity can be calibrated by determining the variation cycle of the grey of fringe pattern in the process of continuous phase shifting. Furthermore, it is very convenient to adjust and capture the fringe patterns with best contrast during the measurement. With the provided approach, two different validation experiments demonstrated that the measurement sensitivity calibration is able to be completed quickly and easily, and the results are highly repeatable and trustable.