Objective:To explore the medication rule in the traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） treatment of osteoarthritis through data mining. Methods:CNKI

Wanfang Data

and VIP were searched for studies on TCM treatment of osteoarthritis to establish a database of prescriptions for osteoarthritis. Core drugs and core prescriptions were analyzed by data mining techniques（frequency statistics

association rules

and cluster analysis）. Results:A total of 95 eligible studies were screened out

involving 251 prescriptions and 225 drugs

which were used a total of3 726 times. The ten most frequently used drugs were Angelica sinensis

Radix Paeoniae Alba

Radix Glycyrrhizae

Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae

Astragalus membranaceus

Ramulus Cinnamomi

prepared Radix Rehmanniae

Spatholobi Caulis

Poria cocos

and Rhizoma Chuanxiong. The flavor and nature of drugs were mostly sweet and warm

primarily acting on the liver（gallbladder） and spleen（stomach） meridians. The cluster analysis of core drugs suggested nine categories. The core prescriptions mainly included Siwu Decoction and Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction. Conclusion:TCM treatment of osteoarthritis addresses both the symptoms and root causes; it benefits the liver and kidney

as well as treats the spleen

to improve deficiency in origin

and dispels pathogenic wind and cold

removes phlegm and dampness

activates blood circulation and removes blood stasis

and dredges collaterals and relieves pain to improve excess in superficiality.