Danshen is one of the most popular traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) in China. In recent years, people become increasingly aware of the value of Danshen, which is attracting global attention. Modern researches indicate that phenolic acids and tanshinones are the main chemical components related to the bioactivities and pharmacological properties of Danshen. Because of the diversity of the chemical structures and characters of these components, an analytical method of Danshen varies, including GC–MS, HPLC–DAD–MS, and so on. Besides that, the development of the analytical technology makes the quality control of Danshen more effective and reliable. Quality evaluation is from single or several components analysis to fingerprint, or in combination. In this paper, much attention was paid to introducing the methods developed for the isolation of major compounds from Danshen and identification of the chemical components of Danshen. Key words: Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), water-soluble compounds, lipophilic compounds, isolation, quantitative analysis, fingerprint.