The characteristics of onset time of cough variant asthma (CVA) match with the human hypnagogic and arousal time nodes, which are also in accordance with the time of defensive qi entering yin and exiting yang of human body. Reviewing the generation and physiological function of defensive qi, we hold that the onset of CVA is related to the lung, the spleen and the kidney. Deficiency of the three viscera leads to defi ciency of defensive qi defi ciency, and blockade of the circulation pathway of defensive qi on body surface, thus interaction of the two factors results in the special time nods of CVA’s onset, which is also the basic pathomechenism of CVA.