To explore the relevance between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pathological factors of drug addicts “addiction” relapse and the characteristics of drug abuse.Methods: Abusers volunteering for the study (n=359) were from drug rehabilitation centers under public security of Fuzhou city and the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice of Fujian Province. Drug using characteristics and scale of TCM syndromes were investigated, and syndrome elements differentiation was used to collect TCM pathological factors. Results: As for drug addicts from drug rehabilitation centers under public security of Fuzhou city (hereinafter referred to as the public security group), the relapse time had significant correlation with heat, and the usage of mixed drugs had significant correlation with phlegm, and the possibility of inducing dampness was greater in using heroin than crystal meth; as for drug addicts from drug rehabilitation centers under judicial compulsory drug addiction rehabilitation group (hereinafter referred to as judicial), the relapse time was obviously relevant to blood stasis, heart, and gallbladder, and the usage of mixed drugs was relevant to heat. Conclusion: Phlegm is the main pathological factor for drug addiction. Psychological factors may promote the generation of heat, which leads to hidden phlegm moving and causes relapse of drug addiction.