Radical resection+D2 or D3 lymphadenectomy is the standard operation for gastrointestinal tumor surgery. The appearance of total mesorectal excision（TME）and complete mesocolic excision（CME）gradually replaced the dominant position of lymphadenectomy in the colorectal cancer surgery，and the surgical treatment of gastrointestinal tumor began to enter the era of “membrane anatomy”. Membrane anatomy is a new concept of surgery and a standardized new operation paradigm under the guidance of the new concept，which is conceived by many factors such as the accumulation of clinical practice，the continuous progress of clinical basic research and medical industry science and technology. However，most clinicians lack in-depth understanding of the origin and current situation of membrane anatomy，the nature and technical composition of membrane anatomy are not very clear，and there are many complex and even wrong interpretations. More and more surgeons engaged in the research and exploration of membrane anatomy. How to condense the membrane anatomy into a systematic theory and guide the operation practice is a problem that needs special attention in the research of modern practical membrane anatomy. The purpose of this essay is to review the origin and evolution of membrane anatomy theory，define the concept of “membrane anatomy”，and help gastrointestinal surgeons to understand the basic theory and principle of membrane anatomy better. At present，the theoretical system of membrane anatomy is not perfect，and more scholars are expected to participate in the basic research or clinical exploration of membrane anatomy，especially for gastric cancer. The theoretical system of “membrane anatomy” is constantly enriched and improved to promote the development of membrane anatomy.