ABSTRACT
Recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has broken out in China, similar with the sever acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbroke in 2003, this pestilence has wide epidemic, strong infectivity and high pathogenicity, which led a great impact on the production, life and people's health in China, and brought huge losses to the economy as well. These two kinds of pestilence were caused by human highly pathogenic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, respectively. Traditional Chinese medicine, as a unique medical way from China, plays an indelible role in ensuring people’s health. By comparing the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, therapeutic principles and methods of traditional Chinese medicine, this paper puts forward the similarities and differences of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention, treatment and recovery periods in COVID-19 and SARS, and gives corresponding suggestions.