Abstract: Sepsis is a common disease in critical medicine, its etiology is complex, disease situation is dangerous, and it is closely associated with organ injury, especially gastrointestinal dysfunction. The new definition of acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) is based on critically ill. In traditional Chinese medicine, sepsis is considered as acute fever, and its main pathogenesis is heat, poison, blood stasis and deficiency, especially deficiency syndrome. AGI shows abdominal distension, constipation, dry mouth and pharynx, which is the syndrome of excess heat. Therefore, pathogenesis of AGI of sepsis is complex, with the mutual loss of yin and yang, the mixture of cold and heat, and deficiency of origin and excess of reality. According to syndrome differentiation of six channels, this syndrome belongs to three emergent purging of Shaoyin syndrome, which is treated by timely purgation to preserve yin method. This article reviewed the application and research progress of timely purgation to preserve yin method in clinical diagnosis and treatment of AGI in sepsis.