OBJECTIVE： To explore the role of clinical pharmacists in the drug budget management， provide the reference for rational drug use. METHODS： The practice of drug budget management innovation in our hospital since 2016 was introduced， and the role of clinical pharmacists in control of rational drug use was described. The role of pharmacists were evaluated by comparing drug proportion， average drug cost per time， the rate of qualified prescription， drug cost and the overall indicators of pharmaceutical performance management in our hospital during 2014-2017. RESULTS： Main functional role of clinical pharmacists in drug budget management of our hospital included checking drug budget to highlight rational drug use， implementing two-way control for drug checking， checking prescriptions and medical orders to optimize drug therapy， participating in dynamic monitoring to implement abnormal early warning， demonstrating drug use to carry out precise control， etc. During 2014-2017， drug proportion and average drug cost per time of hospital were decreased gradually， and the rate of qualified prescription was increased gradually. Compared with 2016， drug proportion， outpatient and emergency drug cost per time and inpatient drug cost per case were decreased by 11.37％ （22.14％ vs. 24.98％）， 12.98％ （191.95 yuan vs. 220.58 yuan） and 12.28％ （3 464.40 yuan vs. 3 949.19 yuan） in 2017， respectively； the rate of qualified prescription reached 96.49％. The overall indicators of pharmaceutical performance management were well achieved and all of them achieved the expected goals in 2017. CONCLUSIONS： The clinical pharmacists play the important role in the drug budget management， and it is effective means to administrate drug cost and to promote the rational drug use.