The digital holography with single phase-shifting operation has been studied. Experimental results and computer-simulated work are presented. The phase-shifting error makes the intensity of primary image decrease and the conjugate image appear in reconstruction. The explicit equation for explaining these effects is given. The calculation of the normalized intercorrelation peak between the input and the reconstruction for different algorithms shows that, when the phase-shifting operation is the main error source, the quality of the image reconstructed from the digital holography with single phase-shifting operation is favorable.