OBJECTIVE：To investigate rationality of existing retail pharmacy layout in Liaoning province ，and to discuss the rationalization of retail pharmacy layout from the perspective of the government. METHODS ：By introducing the concept of coverage radius ，comprehensive use of population ，area，number of retail pharmacies ，average number of people covered by each retail pharmacy ，the difference between the number of pharmacies （calculated according to the coverage radius and area ）and the number of existing pharmacies ，the shortest distance between two retail pharmacies as indicators ，the overall retail pharmacies layout in 14 cities of Liaoning province and the specific layout of retail pharmacies in Shenyang were analyzed to put forward the idea of optimizing the retail pharmacies layout. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS ：The correlation of the number of existing retail pharmacies in Liaoning province with the population and land area to a certain extent showed no obvious law ，with some degree randomness. The average number of people covered by each pharmacy is 1 917-4 157 in each city ；the average number of people covered by retail pharmacies in the remaining 10 cities like Yingkou is lower than the provincial average. The average number of people covered in Chaoyang and other 3 cities is higher ，with great development space. The number of existing retail pharmacies in 8 districts and counties such as Tiexi district do not meet the actual needs of consumers （the number of existing pharmacies is 2- 3 921 less than the number of due pharmacies ），while the number of existing retail pharmacies in 3 districts such as Shenhe district far exceeds the required number （the number of existing pharmacies is 142-248 more than the number of due pharmacies ）. There is a problem of too small spacing between adjacent retail pharmacies （the minimum distance is less than 500 m）. The distribution of retail pharmacies in Liaoning province is unbalanced ，and there is insufficient demand in some areas. When optimizing of retail pharmacies layout ，the government should establish a double objective evaluation system ，which is fair （measured by the maximum distance between the uncovered demand area and the nearest retail pharmacies ）and efficient （measured by the sum of the number of retail drugstores needed for the existing layout and the number of new retail drugstores ）. It is also necessary to analyze and construct a retail pharmacies location model which is suitable for China ’s national conditions ，and consider the actual conditions of the parameters of the actual constraints and objective constraints ，so as to realize the overall optimization of retail drugstores .