Calcination temperature is the key factor affecting the quality of calcined petroleum coke and dominated by calcination parameters in a shaft calciner. In this study, a method for evaluating the effects of various factors on the temperature distribution in shaft calciners is proposed. A two-dimensional transient mathematical model was developed to describe the complex gas-solid coupled mass and heat transfer problems that occur during petroleum coke calcination in shaft calciners. In this model, a three-parallel-distributed activation energy model (DAEM)-reaction model was used to describe the pyrolysis kinetics of petroleum coke, and a dichotomy method was used to guarantee constant temperature in the flue of Layer 2 (T-2) to meet the operational control requirements in actual production. Then, a statistical method called orthogonal design-based grey relational analysis was used to quantize the influence degree of salient factors (discharge rate per pot [DRPP], moisture content [MC], volatile content [VC], and volatile distribution ratio [VDR] in the flue of Layer 1) on the temperature distribution in the shaft calciner. An analysis of variance of the grey relational degree showed that VC was the most influential factor, followed by DRPP and MC; VDR was the least influential factor behind calcination temperature. Therefore, VC is the key factor affecting the calcination temperature and must be strictly controlled during production.