药对是历代医家在长期遣方用药过程中累积起来的简约而精妙的经验总结。作为方剂组成的基本要素，药对尽管只是两药相合，却搭配巧妙、比例得当，能很好地诠释中药“合群妙用”的特点。药对配伍的理论内核、配伍组合和临床效应在本质上与方剂是一致的，因此药对既具有复方的特性，又具有成分相对简单、便于展开深入科学研究等特点。近年来，以药对研究为突破口来阐明中药复方组方机理的研究逐渐受到广泛的关注，并取得了显著的成果。本文基于药对配伍的理论基础、物质基础及其质量控制等对药对配伍的研究进行了总结，并分析探讨了药对研究的新发展趋势，以期为药对配伍理论内涵的揭示与中药新药发现提供参考。

Herb-pairs, which are composed by two relative fixed Chinese herbs in clinical application, are the fundamental and simplest form for the prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Although only composed by two herbs, herb-pairs ingeniously express the basic theories of compound prescription. Furthermore, the mechanics of herb-pairs and compound prescription are similar to each other. Therefore, research about herb-pairs is the foundation in the investigation of prescription compatibility because they have similar feature in essence. This article reviewed recent advances in theoretical foundation, chemical constituents, qualities control of herb-pairs, which will facilitate further exploration and utilization of herb-pairs.

澳门科学技术发展基金项目（029/2007/A2）：中药抗肿瘤的系统药理学评价与药效物质研究，负责人：王一涛；澳门大学研究基金项目（UL016/09-Y1）：中药系统评价关键技术研究，负责人：王一涛。