OBJECTIVE： To investigate the historical evolution and clinical application of “eighteen incompatible medicaments” and “nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint” of TCM， and to provide reference for enriching the contents of rational use of TCM. METHODS： Through the methods of literature mining， using “eighteen incompatible medicaments” “nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint” “incompatible medicaments” “clinical use” “ADR” “ADE” as keywords， retrieved from CNKI， Wanfang， VIP database （from the date of database establishment to August 2018） and library of Henan University of TCM， related literatures about “eighteen incompatible medicaments” and “nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint” were extracted and combed， and the history and clinical application of them were summarized and analyzed. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS： “Eighteen incompatible medicaments” is one of the main contents of TCM basic theory. The word is first published in Shubencao， which is the concrete embodiment of the “opposite” in the “seven compatibility regularities” of TCM， and the number of “eighteen incompatible medicaments” of TCM recorded in the medical books of TCM is different from each other in the past dynasties. “Nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint” is one of the taboos of TCM compatibility， which is first found in Shennong’s Herbal. There are mixed use of “mutual inhibition” “incompatible” and “mutual restraint” in all dynasties， and there is still controversy about the attribution of “seven compatibility regularities” of “nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint” among physicians. Regardless of ancient medical books， modern medical books， various editions of Chinese Pharmacopeia， literature reports and clinical applications， there are compatibility usage of drug pairs of “eighteen incompatible medicaments” and “nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint”. Among them， 8 kinds of set prescription preparations containing drug pair of “eighteen incompatible medicaments” were involved in 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia （part Ⅰ）， most of which were Aconitum carmichaelii/Aconitum kusnezoffii-Bletilla striata/Ampelopsis japonica； 9 kinds of set prescription preparations containing drug pair of “nineteen medicaments of mutual restraint” were also involved， most of which were Syringa oblate-Curcuma rcenyujin， Cinnamomum cassia-Halloysitum rubrum. Although there are medical records or literature pointing out that it can be used to treat critical and difficult diseases， and some studies have preliminarily confirmed the compatibility rationality of individual incompatibility medicaments/medicaments of mutual restraint， the conclusions of relevant studies are not entirely consistent， and the intensity of research evidence is not high， and the research evidence is insufficient.  Basic researches should be strengthened and large-scle， multiple-center and high-quality  clinical studies are needed to confirm this conclusion so as to guaratetee the rationality and safety of drug use in clinic.