Acute lung injury （ALI） is a clinically critical disease with limited treatment options and poor prognosis， with high morbidity and mortality. Pulmonary inflammation caused by trauma， infection， and other factors in vivo and in vitro can damage alveolar epithelial and vascular endothelial barriers， resulting in lung tissue congestion and edema and eventually leading to significant dyspnea and hypoxemia， It can further develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome. Oxidative stress is one of the pathogenesis of ALI. A large number of reactive oxygen species （ROS） can promote the aggregation of inflammatory cells， increase pulmonary capillary permeability， and even directly damage lung tissue. Therefore， regulating oxidative stress becomes one of the effective means to reduce the degree of lung injury. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， ALI is divided into the categories of "sudden wheezing" and "dyspnea due to wheezing". TCM treats the causes of dampness， heat， poison， and stasis by syndrome differentiation and treatment， regulates Qi and blood， and balances Yin and Yang to restore the physiological function of the lung. In recent years， a large number of studies have shown that TCM can regulate ROS through multiple targets and mechanisms and play a role in reducing lung inflammation and protecting alveolar epithelial cells and endothelial vessels， in which the nuclear factor E₂ associated factor 2 （Nrf2） antioxidant pathway plays an important role. Based on the generation and clearance of ROS， this article summarized the related mechanisms of TCM monomers， TCM pairs， and TCM compounds in regulating oxidative stress to prevent ALI， so as to provide theoretical reference for the research and development of new TCM for ALI and clinical treatment.

traditional Chinese medicine;acute lung injury;oxidative stress;reactive oxygen species;nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2