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Plasma shock waves represent high-speed, nonlinear motion states of plasma in which the physical parameters of fluid, such as density, temperature, and velocity, vary dramatically within a limited space. These variations make studying electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma shock waves difficult. In this study, we calculate the spatial distribution of the plasma frequency and collision frequency in the plasma shock layer based on the one-dimensional structure of the plasma shock wave. In the process from upstream to downstream of the plasma shock wave, the plasma frequency increases as a function of electron density; downstream, the plasma frequency increases as a function of the free stream Mach number, while the collision frequency decreases first and then increases. We also use the recursive convolution finite-difference time-domain method to calculate the propagation of the electromagnetic wave in the plasma shock layer. The absorption of the plasma shock layer to the electromagnetic wave decreases gradually as a function of the electromagnetic wave frequency. The absorption of the plasma shock layer downstream of the electromagnetic wave is greater than that upstream owing to the larger plasma frequency. In the case of low-Mach numbers, the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave downstream is larger than that upstream. In the case of high-Mach numbers, the thickness of the entire shock layer is much greater than that at low-Mach numbers. Due to the nonlinear effects of electromagnetic processes in plasmas, a modulation phenomenon occurs when electromagnetic waves propagate in the shock layer. In the case of low frequencies, the electromagnetic wave gave rise to a modulation phenomenon that resembled the beat phenomenon. When the electromagnetic wave frequency increased, a modulation phenomenon gradually appeared that resembled the oscillation superimposed on a sine wave. Further increases in the electromagnetic wave frequency led to the gradual disappearance of the modulation phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]