As common acute abdomen, most of acute pancreatitis(AP) are self-restricted. Only a few patients may develop into worse state with local complications or organ failures, and finally neastic acute pancreatitis (NAP). With the change of people's dietaries, cholelithiasis morbidity and popularization of wine in recent years, the number of AP patients has increased.Although people conducted enormous studies on pathogenesis of AP and brought forward many be valuable theories, yet the exact mechanism is still unclear by far. There are many therapies of AP which should be unexceptionally classified as operative therapy and non-operative therapy. With the increasing understanding of the disease in recent years, we found many defects of operation and good therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine in AP. Traditional Chinese medicine as an auxiliary therapy has been generally paid close attention in clinical practices. Traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure-house of China. This article summarizes the main mechanisms of AP treatment by traditional Chinese medicine and the progress of laboratory studies. It aims to help people recognize the multiple-target treatment effects and conspicuous efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine and promote the popularization of traditional Chinese medicine in AP treatment.