As a result of studing on the "shashen(沙蔘)", we could reach conclusions as follows. 1. Shashen is the root of "lunyeshashen(潤葉沙蔘)", "kuoyeshashen(闊葉沙蔘)", and its same generic plants that belong to Companulaceae. In china people has used twenty-four species as a shashen together with other generic plants, in korea sixteen species as a shashen. 2. At first, in the "Shen Nong's Herbal(神農本草經)" it was recorded and then in the "Benchingfengyuan(本經逢原)" divided into "nanshashen(南沙蔘)" and "beishashen(北沙蔘)". Recently, nanshashen called shashen belongs to Companulaceae and have strong efficacies of clearing away heat from lung, resolving phlegm, beishashen belongs to Umbelliferae and have strong efficacies of nourishing stomach, nourishing yin. 3. Shashen is the root of Adenophora stricta Miq., and yangru(羊乳) is that of Codonopsis lauceolata Bentham et Hooker, jini is that of Adenophora remotiflora (SIEBOLD et ZUCCARINI.) MIQUEL. From a efficacious point of view, it is the characteristics that shashen have efficacies of nourishing yin and clearing away heat from lung, supplementing stomach and promoting production of body fluid, resolving phlegm and relieving cough, eliminating pus and abscess, expelling wind and pruritus, jini have those of clearing away heat and toxic material, resolving phlegm and yanru have those of nourishing yin and moistening lung, resolving phlegm and eliminating pus, clearing away heat and toxic material, stimulating milk secretion. 4. After being recorded as "zhimu(知母)" in Shen Nong's Herbal, the alias of shashen was recorded as kuxin(苦心), shimei(識美), huxu(虎須), baishen(白參), zhiqu(志取), wenhu(文虎), baolishen(保利參), paoshen(泡參), jibantui(鷄半腿), yangponai(羊婆妨) and so on. Moreover shashen was named after its characteristics of that it grows well in the sandy soil and as a wushen(五參) with a renshen(人蔘) its form is different from that of wushen but their chief virtues are alike. 5. In the numerous medical books, xinyeshashen(杏葉沙蔘) regarded as nanshashen. It was called as the alias of jini, so I thouhgt that it was wrong xinyeshashen to be regarded as nanshashen. 6. It was used shashen for renshen, renshen was used to treat lung-cold syndrome by its efficacy of tonifying yang and shashen lung-heat syndrome by its efficacy of nourishing yin, the reasons of that because shashen had amount of sap, its properies and flavours of herbs are light and clean. 7. The constituents of shashen were essential oil, starch, shashen-saponin, furocoumarin, xanthotoxin(ammoidin), inulin, sugar, mucus and have efficacies of resolving phlegm, promoting production of body fluid, immunomodulational and antibiotic efficacies. above results indicated that the origin of shashen and substitutional plants was various. Their efficacies are somewhat alike, but there were characteristic efficacies each other. Nowadays they are used together with, so we should know the characteristic efficacies of them and then we using them clinically, more deep discrimination and experimental support shoud be accomplished.