Abstract: Coptis chinensis is a traditional bulk Chinese medicine in China, which was first listed as the top grade in the Shennong Materia Medica Classic. Up to now, it has a history of more than 2 000 years as a medicine. C. chinensis is a perennial herb of the Ranunculaceae family, which is the basis of various medicinal prescriptions. C. chinensis has many material bases and complex pharmacological effects, with the deepening of modern research, new chemical components of C. chinensis have been continuously discovered, so as to further explore the production and functional value of C. chinensis and promote the application and development of C. chinensis. In this paper, the biological characteristics, chemical composition, pharmacological action and the development of medicinal value of C. chinensis were reviewed. It was found that the chemical composition of C. chinensis mainly consisted of alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans, acid compounds, polysaccharides, steroids, amino acids and trace elements necessary for human body. It can have pharmacological effects such as antibacterial, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells and alleviating myocardial ischemia through different pathways and targets. Therefore, the chemical components of C. chinensis should be systematically separated and extracted, and the biological activity of C. chinensis should be further determined, and the related mechanisms should be studied.