Human thinking is a cognitive activity related to the process of survival， life， reproduction and deve-lopment of human beings in nature. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） thinking is a part of human thinking， and this thinking method and system is formulated to maintain human life， health and prevent and treat diseases. By discussing the claims of TCM in taking human beings as the essential， holism， dynamic equilibrium， and treatment according to pattern differentiation， this paper explored the practical significance of TCM thinking in maintenance of life， health prevention and treatment of disease. After further analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by TCM thinking in modern times， it is pointed out that TCM thinking has dominant role in social education development， humanistic quality improvement， excellent traditional culture inheritance， and life and health protection under the current cultural and scientific trend.