Abstract:Depsides salts from Salvia miltiorrhiza and its preparations are novel cardiovascular drug with a definite effective component extracted from Saliva miltiorrhiza, featuring about 80% of magnesium lithospermate B and 100% of total depsides salts. The fingerprint technology is used for the overall quality control of the medicinal herbs, depsides salts from Salvia miltiorrhiza, and its preparations. Depsides salts from Salvia miltiorrhiza has been confirmed to be safe and effective for the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and chronic angina pectoris in multi-centre clinical trials. On May 25, 2005, a New Drug Application (NDA) of depsides salts from Salvia miltiorrhiza and its preparation for the treatment of coronary artery disease had received official approval from State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA). The techniques related to the development of depsides salts from Salvia miltiorrhiza have been granted patents in China and the United States. It is an achievement with intellectual property rights on modernization of Chinese traditional medicine. The focus of this paper is mainly on the research background and significance, as well as the achievements in depsides salts from Salvia miltiorrhiza and its preparations.