BACKGROUND:There are many clinical reports about traditional Chinese medicine therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee joint,but the experimental study of the treatment mechanism is few.OBJECTIVE:To summarize the impact of knee osteoarthritis to knee joint histomorphology and cytokine changes,and the effect of traditional Chinese medicine on osteoarthritis of the knee joint.RETRIEVAL STRATEGY:A computer-based online search of PubMed database was undertaken to identify the articles published in English from January 1985 to May 2007 with the keyword "Osteoarthritis".In addition,we searched Chinese Periodical Full-text Database for the Chinese articles dated from January 1997 to May 2007 with the key words "osteoarthritis of the knee" in Chinese.After the first trial,articles about ①the action mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine to treat osteoarthritis of the knee,and ② the research advances of the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis of the knee were selected.Repetitive studies were excluded.LITERATURE EVALUATION:Thirty-nine articles were accorded with the inclusive criteria.Of them,31 were about the action mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine to treat osteoarthritis of the knee,and 8 about the research advances of the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis of the knee.DATA SYNTHESIS:Traditional Chinese medicine therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee has mature clinical experience and distinct advantages.With the increasing exploration to the traditional Chinese medicine therapy,its action mechanism to treat osteoarthritis of the knee has developed from histomorphology analyses to immunohistochemistry,molecular biology and other subjects.Recently,some experimental studies have suggested that the effect of traditional Chinese medicine on osteoarthritis of the knee is predominantly reflected by the histomorphology,cytokine,intraosseous pressure,and oxygen free radical of knee osteoarthritis.CONCLUSION:Traditional Chinese medicine therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee is variable and complex.We should pay more attention to the prospective study into the effective prevention of articular cartilage degeneration using traditional Chinese medicine and deeply explore the action mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine to treat osteoarthritis of the knee.