RESUMEN
Alpinia katsumadai is recorded in Chinese herbal classics of previous dynasties，with a long history of medicinal use and significantly efficacy. This paper made a comprehensive textual research and summarization of the name，origin，distribution of producing areas，genuine producing area，harvesting time，processing method，property and flavor，and treatment functions of A. katsumadai by reviewing the ancient and modern literatures systematically. A. katsumadai has many alias names， such as Doukou，Loukou，Caokou in Chinese. Through the analysis of ancient herbal researches and drawings，it is concluded that there was some disordered uses of A. katsumadai with A. zerumbet and Amomum tsaoko. And the varieties of A. katsumadai have changed in some areas from ancient to present. The original plants of A. katsumadai is Alpinia katsumadai， which belongs to Alpinia of Zingiberaceae in modern textual research. A. katsumadai mainly grows in Lingnan and some other tropical areas； especially， those produced in Hainan have a better quality. The harvest time is usually in summer and autumn when fruits are all ripe. The processing methods of A. katsumadai are various， including heating and bending wrapped with flour， processing slowly with Euodiae Fructus，stir-frying in ancient times，while purifying processing （peeling） is generally used in modern times. A. katsumadai has the effect in invigorating spleen and warming stomach，lower Qi and relieving stagnation-syndrome，drying dampness and driving cold. In modern studies， efforts shall be made to strengthen basic research，establish quantitative standards for processing and digital standard for genuine medicinal materials of A. katsumadai， and deeply explore the compatibility regularity and application of A. katsumadai in ancient prescriptions， in order to ensure the quality and maximize its medicinal value in modern studies.