Natural language processing (NLP) is the embodiment of computer intelligence in acquiring knowledge, understanding, processing and expressing consciously and actively. It is the scientific key to promoting the informatization of medical practice and research. This paper reviews the development history and research basis of NLP, and focuses on the current application of NLP and large language models in biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including the intelligent reading, information extraction and feedback of medical texts and ancient books of TCM, as well as the construction of medical knowledge graph and question-answering system. NLP is the technical support to explore the treasure house of TCM, which is of great practical significance to further promote the development of efficient and high-quality core values of TCM and to improve the service capacity.
