The standardization study on disease names in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is a key and challenging aspect of the modernization of TCM. TCM disease names refer to a symbolic system established by traditional medicine for the rational definition and denotation of physical and mental distress， characterized by temporal and spatial features， clinical features， and cultural traits. These features are both the characteristics of TCM disease names and the root causes of issues such as weakened application， standardization difficulties， and lack of methodology. In response to these problems， we propose a research idea for TCM disease names. Firstly， appropriate samples should be selected based on application needs， and by constructing models， the alignment of the TCM disease names' refe-rence system in content and form should be facilitated to address the issue of weakened application. Secondly， studies on semantics， pragmatics， and clinical positioning should be conducted simultaneously to promote the empi-rical nature of linguistic symbols and strengthen the clinical features of TCM disease names. Furthermore， research on methodology should be intensified. By fully referencing traditional naming methods and the nomenclature of western scientific fields and theoretically examining complex systems， the intrinsic relationship between classification systems and naming methods should be clarified， thereby completing the standardization study of the construction process of the TCM disease names reference system.