The advance in studies on the quality control of Scrophulariae Radix was summarized. Literatures in recent years were studied to define the main active ingredient in S. ningpoensis is iridoid glycosides. Although Scrophulariae Radix has grown in most areas of China

there is no improved quality standards and norms and sufficient quantitative control

which resulted in differences in quality control. The current development trend for controlling traditional Chinese medicine quality is to diversify the quality control mode and establish the multi-mode multi-chromatography system and its coupling technique quality control method. Currently

the quality control mode for Scrophulariae Radix is dominated by single index

multi-index quality control and fingerprint;HPLC

high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE)

near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)

attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and other techniques lay a foundation for exploring methods and new techniques for systematic control and evaluation for Scrophulariae Radix. The above content provides the reference for chemical components and quality control of Scrophulariae Radix and the basis for further development and utilization of Scrophulariae Radix resources.