Based on the methods of data mining and network pharmacological analysis,the medication rule of rheumatism immunology physicians of Guanghua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis was summarized.To explain the pharmacological mechanism,network pharmacology of the drug pairs with the highest frequency was analyzed,so as to provide some reference for the treatment of AS with TCM.This study took Guanghua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM as the main research center,and adopted the method of cross-sectional investigation to collect the information of AS patients in the rheumatic immunology clinic and inpatient department of Guanghua Hospital.The basic information of the patients and the treatment prescription of TCM was collected.Relying on modern computer information technology,the data were analyzed by data mining.The obtained high-frequency drug pairs were analyzed by network pharmacology.200 prescriptions of TCM were collected,and 236 kinds of herbs were collected.There were 28 herbs with frequency ≥ 1%,such as Rhizoma Cibotii,Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and Radix Angelicae Pubescentis,mainly tonifying deficiency,clearing heat,activating blood stasis and dispelling wind and dampness.After association rules,33 drug combinations with frequency ≥ 40 were obtained,of which Rhizoma Cibotii-Radix Dipsaci (RC-RD) ranked the highest.The results of network pharmacological analysis showed that there were 12 active components and 430 corresponding proteins,and the main genes included TNF,EGFR,VEGFA,STAT3,HSP90AA1,PTGS2, MMP2, MMP9,and IL2.Gene Ontology (GO) biological process analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that it was mainly involved in many processes such as inflammatory regulation and ligand-activated transcription factor activity,and acts on AS through pathways in cancer,toll-like receptor signaling pathway,neurotrophin signaling pathway and T cell receptor signaling pathway.Guanghua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM mainly adopts the methods of tonifying deficiency and strengthening spine,clearing heat,promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis,dispelling wind and removing dampness in the treatment of AS,so as to provide reference for the further application of TCM in the treatment of AS.Network pharmacology analysis showed that β-sitosterol and kaempferol may act on TNF,VEGFA,STAT3,PTGS2,MMP9,IL2 and other targets.And they can regulate multiple pathways such as cancer signaling pathway,toll-like receptor signaling pathway and T cell receptor signaling pathway.It indicates that TCM has the characteristics of multi-components,multi-targets and multi-pathways,which provides a theoretical basis for follow-up clinical application.