OBJECTIVE： To explore the assessment indicators of the accessibility of essential medicines to comprehensively evaluate the accessibility of essential medicinesand its coverage of medicine supply security and service quality and the improvement of the implementation of the new Healthcare reform. METHODS： Retrieved from Chinese and English Literature and the World Health Organization （WHO）， theoretical analysis was conducted for the covering the core elements of essential medicines to explore construction ideas and content of essential medicines evaluation index system with international suitability， index appropriateness and operability. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS： A series of medicine policy evaluation guide established by WHO is currently the main basis of the accessibility of essential medicines evaluation around the world， however， there are certain limitations for these indicators.According to the concept put forward by WHO and the related organizations， the core elements of the accessibility of essential medicines include： availability， affordability， supply system， sustainable financing， medicine quality and appropriate use.