Rhizoma Alismatis(RA),the dried rhizome of Alisma orientalis(Sam.)Juzep,isa widely used traditional herbal medicine popularly known as″Ze Xie″in Chinese.RA is an important crude herb component of several famous Chinese preparations including Zexie decoction,Liu Wei Di Huang pills,Wu Ling power and so on.It has been used to treat various ailments such as dysuria,edema,nephropathy,hypertension,hyperlipidemia and diabetes,etc.A wide range of chemical compounds mainly triterpenes,diterpenes and sesquiterpenes have been isolated from RA,among which the protostane-type triterpenes termed alisols attract the most attention owing to their unique chemical structure and various biological activity.The extract and active compounds of RAhave been demonstrated to possess a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects which support its clinical use,e.g.diuretic,hypoglycemic,hypolipidemic,hepatoprotective,preventing bone loss,anti-inflammatory andantivirus activities.In our previous studies,we have investigatedthe anti-proliferative activities of terpenoids isolated from RA and their structure-activity relationships.Alisol B 23-acetate was demonstrated to induce G1 phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis,and inhibit migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells.The present paper reviews the up-to-date information concerning the ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry,pharmacology and toxicology of RA.This information will be helpful for a better understanding of therapeutic potential of RA as wel as the further explorations.