An early goal from John Sutton ultimately settled this often entertaining encounter between two sides separated by just two places and three points in the table when the match began.
However, victory lifted Wycombe into the play-off frame, while Shrewsbury must regroup after their three-match winning streak was brought to an end.
Although the kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to a floodlight problem, Wycombe were bright and alert from the kick-off and in the eighth minute Sutton was on hand to force the ball home from close-range after keeper Glyn Garner was unable to hold a Scott McGleish header.
Two minutes later, Sergio Torres fired over at the far post as Wycombe proceeded to dominate the opening period against a below-par Shrewsbury, whose forward play caused the visiting defence few alarms.
But from the first whistle of the second half, Shrewsbury looked a different prospect and within five minutes of the restart had almost levelled on three separate occasions.
From a Ben Davies free-kick, central defender Kelvin Langmead headed against the crossbar and then fellow defender Colin Murdock saw his header clawed away by Wanderers goalkeeper Frank Fielding.
And as the pressure continued to mount, full-back Marc Tierney lashed a shot against the woodwork.
Once Wycombe weathered the storm they gradually began to win back an even share of possession, but their goal was once again subjected to a number of close calls as the game drew to a close.
With eight minutes left, a swerving Davies free-kick brought a diving save from Fielding, who was also called upon to thwart a low shot from Langmead.
But the best opportunity for the home side to salvage a point fell to Davies, but after scoring in the last three games, he lifted a close-range chance over the bar.