Epidemiology and general medicine share the same research object and serve the same purpose. Both of them are population－based, aim at disease prevention and control,and health promotion. The epidemiological ways of thinking and viewpoints including macro (population), comparison, probability statistics,the theory of multiple etiologies,grading prevention and prevention oriented can effectively guide general medical research and practice. Through the analysis of the application and importance of epidemiological ways of thinking in general medicine,the article indicated that in epidemiological teaching for students of general medicine,students’ epidemiological thinking should be trained first,and followed by epidemiological research methods under the guidance of epidemiological thinking.