OBJECTIVE： To provide reference for the clinical use and dosage form development of Strychnos nuxvomica. METHODS： The prescriptions containing S. nuxvomica were collected and sorted from the Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription， and then formula name， prescription source， name of treatment disease， composition， usage and dosage， medication route were input into Access 2010 and database was established. According to the usage， these prescriptions were divided into internal use and external use， and the frequencies of diseases treated by internal/external use prescriptions were counted respectively. Apriori algorithm of SPSS Modeler 18.0 software was used to analyze the drug combination rule of compound prescription containing S. nuxvomica. RESULTS： A total of 78 prescriptions were included， of which 42 were oral prescriptions， 33 were external prescriptions and 3 were both oral and external prescriptions. Internal prescriptions were used to treat diseases such as atrophy-flaccidity disease， arthralgia， hemorrhoids， anal fistula， bones and muscles pain. The external prescriptions were mainly used to treat skin diseases， tumors， lump. Internal and external prescriptions could treat sore， injuries and fractures. In internal prescriptions， S. nuxvomica was often compatible with Boswellia carterii， myrrha， Daemonorops draco， Manis pentadactyla， pyritum， Angelica sinensis， Ephedra sinica， Aconitum kusnezoffii. In external prescriptions， S. nuxvomica was often compatible with Radix Paeoniae， Rehmannia glutinosa， Phellodendron chinense， Coptis chinensis， Scutellaria baicalensis， Angelica sinensis， Angelica dahurica， Buthus martensii. Most of S. nuxvomica were used after processing， and mainly took sesame oil as an auxiliary material （77.97％）. CONCLUSIONS： Diseases treated with the prescriptions containing S. nuxvomica can be classified into three types of diseases， i.e. polymyalgia rheumatica and paralysis， bruise and bone fracture， carbuncle and stubbornness tinea. In external prescriptions， S. nuxvomica is often compatible with drug for clearing heat and drying dampness， cooling blood and activating blood， and relieving pain. In internal prescriptions， S. nuxvomica is often compatible with the agents for blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicinal. In addition， the processing of S. nuxvomica with sesame oil is an important measure to ensure its safety.