Fermentum Rubrum（FR） is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine with dual-use functions of medicine and food， which has been used for more than 1 000 years. By referring to the ancient herbal classics and modern laws and regulations， the author sorted out the origin of FR， sorted out the development of processing， and analyzed the problems existing in the quality standard， aiming to provide a basis for further research and development of FR. There are many theories about the origin of FR. After summarizing and sorting out the relevant literature， three viewpoints are mainly drawn， including Han dynasty origin theory， Wei and Jin origin theory and Tang dynasty origin theory. After synthesizing the views of various schools， it is believed that the origin of FR should be no later than the Eastern Han dynasty. FR is made from rice by fermentation， which has the effect of strengthening the spleen， eliminating food， promoting blood circulation and removing stasis after fermentation. Although the natural fermentation in ancient times has been able to pay attention to the influence of temperature， humidity and strain on the quality of FR， due to the low level of science and technology， there are still problems such as complicated and cumbersome process， large workload and high labor cost. To the pure fermentation in modern times， the fermentation processing method of FR has been evolved， gradually improved and perfected. However， due to the lack of standardized research， there is no unified standard for the fermentation process of FR in various regions， and the quality standard lags behind seriously， which leads to the unstable product quality on the market. Among the 15 specifications for the preparation of FR， only 6 have been published in the past 5 years， and most of them have not been revised in a timely manner， and some of them have not been included in the updated version. Based on this， it is recommended to carry out a systematic study on processing technology of FR， and the best process is selected to accelerate the revision and improvement of its standardization， so as to improve the quality of FR sold in the market and promote its stable and sustainable development.