Abstract: To clarify the carbon emission characteristics of high-rise residential buildings throughout their entire life cycle, thereby providing a practical basis for carbon emission reduction in the construction industry. This study took a 18-story high-rise residential building with a shear wall structure in Shandong Province as a case study. The total construction area of this building is 10,059.54 square meters, and its designed service life is 50 years. The Donghe Carbon Emission Calculation software was used to estimate the carbon emissions during five key stages: building material production, transportation, construction, operation and maintenance, and demolition and recycling. At the same time, the key areas for carbon emission reduction were identified. The study showed that the total carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of this building amounted to 20,638.686 tons of CO₂, with a carbon emission intensity per square meter of 2.049 tons of CO₂/m². The cumulative carbon emissions from the operation and maintenance stage as well as the building material production stage accounted for 87.73% of the total emissions, making these stages the core areas for carbon reduction. It is recommended to prioritize the carbon reduction strategies for the operation and maintenance stage as well as the building material production stage. Additionally, optimization measures can be implemented for the transportation, construction, and demolition stages. Such approaches can effectively reduce the carbon emissions throughout the entire life cycle of buildings, thus contributing to the achievement of the “dual carbon goals”.