Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy （TAO） is an orbital disease closely related to thyroid disorders， with a prolonged course that can lead to blindness or disability. Its diagnosis and treatment are complex and involve multiple disciplines. Guided by the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） theory that "the liver opens the orifices in the eyes"， professor ZHUANG Zengyuan proposed that treatment should combine patients' symptoms and laboratory indicators with staged syndrome differentiation. The active phase of TAO can be differentiated as up-flaming of liver fire and depressed heat in liver meridian syndrome， while the non-active phase can be differentiated as phlegm-blood stasis syndrome. Treatment is based on the principles of purging the liver heat and activating blood to remove stasis， commonly using bitter and cold herbs for clearing heat， pungent herbs for opening orifices， bitter herbs for purging fire， and those for resolving phlegm and dispelling stasis.