According to the Shennong Ben Cao Jing, Alismatis Rhizoma has tonic properties, however, that is not recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. By reviewing the relevant literature on the efficacy of Alismatis Rhizoma in ancient texts, it was found that before the Song Dynasty, the efficacy of Alismatis Rhizoma included tonic, diuresis, and heat relief. From the Song Dynasty, some medical practitioners questioned the view that Alismatis Rhizoma is a tonic, while the Ming Dynasty medical practitioners believed that the tonic function of Alismatis Rhizoma is derived from its water-relieving effect and that it is not a direct tonic, and the Qing Dynasty medical practitioners believed that the core effect of Alismatis Rhizoma is water-relieving and that tonic is an excessive praise of Alismatis Rhizoma’s effect with no practical clinical significance. By this point, the notion that Alismatis Rhizoma is a tonic has completely dropped out of mainstream traditional Chinese medicine theory. In addition, it was also found that the efficacy of Alismatis Rhizoma in stopping seminal discharge has been documented in medical texts for generations, but not in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.