With the rapid development of bionic technology in 21st Century，the “odor” can be objectively quantified，which breaks the limitation of traditional experiential identification and is widely used in the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine because of its integrity.In this paper，the concept，principles and characteristics of electronic nose technology are introduced in detail，and its application status and the existing problems in the field of Chinese medicine are summarized systematically in recent years.With the progress of electronic nose technology，it will provide a new opportunity for the objective evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine and in-depth study of correlation between exterior character and internal quality on traditional Chinese medicine.