Jinlingzi San is a formula frequently used in treating pain syndrome， first recorded in the Collection of Writings on the Mechanism of Disease， Suitability of Qi， and the Safeguarding of Life as Discussed in the 'Basic Questions' written by LIU Wansu in the Jin Dynasty. Jinlingzi San is composed of 2 Chinese medicinals Toosendan Fructus and Corydalis Rhizoma with a concise composition and exact clinical efficacy， having been included in the Catalogue of Ancient Classical Formulas （Second Batch： Han Chinese Medicine）. The formula name， historic evolution， medicine origins， composition， dosage， decocting methods， and ancient and modern clinical application were sorted out and analyzed with the bibliometric method. A total of 209 pieces of information were collected from ancient books and literature. After screening， 49 pieces of effective data involving 45 ancient books were included. Results showed that the name of Jinlingzi San was first recorded in Secret Formulas of the Yang Family written by Yang Tan in the Southern Song Dynasty and developed into 3 other versions of the decoction. The Jinlingzi San included in the Collection of Writings on the Mechanism of Disease， Suitability of Qi， and the Safeguarding of Life as Discussed in the 'Basic Questions' written by LIU Wansu invariably plays a dominant role. As for the 3 other versions， although they have the same name of Jinlingzi San， their composition and indications are different from those of the original formula， which were therefore viewed as prescriptions based on Jinlingzi San and also included in the research. The medicine origins and processing of Jinlingzi San are suggested： Toosendan Fructus is the dry mature fruit of Melia toosendan of Meliaceae， and the crude is used after cleansing without putamen. Corydalis Rhizoma is the dry tuber of Corydalis yanhusuo of Papaveraceae， which is used after impurity removal， cleaning， and drying. Depending on the conversion from the measurement system in the Jin Dynasty to modern measurement， it is suggested that Toosendan Fructus and Corydalis Rhizoma （41.3 g each） are ground into fine powder， and one dose includes 12.39 g of the powder， which should be taken with an appropriate amount of wine. If wine is not suitable for the patient， the decoction can also be taken with warm water. Jinlingzi San has the effects of soothing the liver， discharging heat， and activating blood to stop pain. As recorded in ancient books， Jinlingzi San is specialized in treating heart pain caused by reversal heat， chest and abdominal pain， hypochondriac pain， jaundice， hernia， and other diseases. Modern studies have shown that modified Jinlingzi San can be used in treating diseases involving the digestive system， the integumentary system， the gynecological system， the reproductive system， and other systems and has wide clinical application in treating epigastric pain， herpes zoster， dysmenorrhea， and other diseases. This study has made clear the key information of Jinlingzi San by textual research of ancient books and literature in the hope of providing a theoretical reference for the clinical application， set prescriptions， and new drug development.