In an entertaining encounter, which the home side dominated for the first half, Paul Simpson's men broke the deadlock on 47 minutes when top scorer Grant Holt fired home from close range.
But when Town were unable to score a second to make the points safe, Dale rallied and earned a point when Chris Dagnall levelled 17 minutes from time.
After falling out of the play-off places following the 2-1 reversal at Bury on Friday, Shrewsbury began brightly with winger Chris Humphrey presenting the Dale defence with a number of anxious moments.
In the fourth minute his centre from the right was scrambled clear and as the home side continued to press, Darren Moss, Nick Chadwick and Holt all went near as the visitors' rearguard survived several close calls.
Ten minutes before the break Rochdale were almost breached, but Town centre-back Graham Coughlan saw his header rebound from the crossbar, but when the loose ball fell to Kelvin Langmead, he was unable to steer it home.
But two minutes into the second half Shrewsbury broke through, as despite the attentions of two defenders, Holt kept his balance to fire home his 19th league goal of the season.
The home side were unable to force home the advantage and with nerves creeping into their play, Rochdale finally began to pose an attacking threat.
Tom Kennedy curled a free-kick just over in the 72nd minute, but 60 seconds later they were level, Dagnall scoring with a sweetly struck shot from 15 yards.
In the closing stages Rochdale's substitute Lee Thorpe steered a header against the bar, while at the other end Moss saw his late strike held by visitors' keeper Frank Fielding, but ultimately both sides had to settle for a point.