Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging functional imaging method in the field of biomedical applications，which is developed based on the photoacoustic effect.Photoacoustic imaging technique can non-invasively detect the structural，functional and molecular anomalies in biological tissues，and can detect multi-scale information in the micro and macro worlds.This technique has developed into one of the latest research methods in the field of neuroscience.The diagnosis of diseases in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is mainly based on the macro symptom information directly through the method of 4 diagnostic combinations，guided by the TCM theory，and combined with long-term clinical practice and rich clinical experience，so as to understand the pathological mechanism and develop treatment plans.However，TCM theory lacks the support of the evidence of materialization in the modern sense，which restricts its research and development and hinders TCM internationalization.Photoacoustic imaging technique can provide diagnostic information from microscopic morphological structure and functional changes，and provide the basis of internal and external changes for TCM dialectical treatment.It is conducive to promoting the research process of modernization，internationalization and standardization of TCM.