Tibetan medicine, an important part of the Chinese medical tradition, has been evolving for nearly 3,000 years. During the third century BC, a primitive medical system had existed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, comprising theories on daily life, food and drink, and health care. Although a complete medical theory had not yet formed, simple therapies were used such as blood-letting, massage, using butter to stop bleeding, and using distillers' grains from highland barley to treat wounds. They had also hypothesized that "toxins and medicines co-exist."

During the 7th century, Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo united the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and established the Tubo Kingdom . He invited medical experts and translators from neighboring states, together with medical experts of Tibet , to compile medical classics such as A Complete Collection of Medical Works, Fearless Weapons, Medicine and Diagnosis of Moon King, and Four Medical Classics. He encouraged Tibetan medical researchers to incorporate Indian and Han Chinese medical principles into their work. These efforts promoted the development of traditional Tibetan medicine and laid a solid foundation in the fields of physiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

In around 1450, two contradictory schools of thought-northern and southern-arose. Each school had it own views concerning prescription methods and the Four Medical Classics. This conflict in ideas marked a new stage in the development of traditional Tibetan medicine. Sukar, a representative of the southern school, and his disciples conducted research on diseases caused by dampness in southern Tibet . They based their studies on the Four Medical Classics and created a unique theoretical system for diagnosis and medication. They wrote more than ten representative medical works. Qamba and Namgyai Zhabsang were representative figures of the northern school. They conducted research on diseases caused by the cold climate in northern Tibet and based their work upon the Four Medical Classics. They wrote more than ten representative medical works. The contention between the northern and so/uthern schools of thought greatly promoted the development of traditional Tibetan medicine.

Between 1600 and 1959, traditional Tibetan medicine developed slowly, without any dynamism. But after the peaceful liberation of Tibet , the Party and the central government have been aiding the development of Tibetan medicine. After China adopted economic reform policies in 1978, traditional Tibetan medicine has rapidly developed. Research centers have been established in Tibet , Qinghai , Gansu and Scihuan. Provincial-level hospitals and pharmaceutical production bases have been set up in Tibet and Qinghai . Also, prefecture medical organizations have been established in Sichuan , Gansu , Tibet and Qinghai . Traditional Tibetan medicine is being standardized.