By analyzing "Diagnose and treatment of cholera in Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases)", we found that such symptoms as serious vomiting and dysentery appeared in febrile diseases, which is similar to cholera. Therefore, Shanghan Lun named it "cholera illness". This name not only clearly manifested the characteristics of such gastrointestinal-febrile disease, but also emphasized the significance of differential diagnosis between cholera with "cholera illness" in febrile diseases.