Abstract： The term "kidney governs the interior" first appeared in the Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic)， often understood as "the kidneys are located in the interior and govern in the interior" or "the kidney governs water，and their qi governs internally in the interior". However，there are still differences in the understanding of its meaning and confusion in guiding clinical practice. From the "kidney governs the interior" of the text，theoretical significance and clinical value to explore，"kidney governs the interior" of the text can be interpreted from the kidney location， kidney function， kidney and Yi Jing Knowledge three aspects，its theoretical significance and clinical value can be illustrated from "the kidney pertains to the beginning of yin，governing water in five elements" "kidney corresponds to winter，storing essence，hiding and storing” "kidney contains true yin and true yang，is the root of zang-fu yin and yang" and "the meridians of the kidney belong to shaoyin" are explained in four aspects. Although doctors have different interpretations of the theory of " kidney governs the interior"，showing the characteristics of each theory，they are essentially inheriting and innovating the theory of "kidney treatment in the interior" of the Huang Di Nei Jing. Therefore， the practitioners should use it flexibly in clinical application， which also provides theoretical support for the clinical application of "kidney governs the interior".