In this paper, the generalized nonlinear Schr(o)dinger equation (GNLSE) is solved by an adaptive split-step Fourier method (ASSFM). It is found that ASSFM must be used to solve GNLSE to ensure precision when the soliton self-frequency shift is remarkable and the photonic crystal fibre (PCF) parameters vary with the frequency considerably. The precision of numerical simulation by using ASSFM is higher than that by using split-step Fourier method in the process of laser pulse propagation in PCFs due to the fact that the variation of fibre parameters with the peak frequency in the pulse spectrum can be taken into account fully.