Against the practical problem of difficulty in distinguishing between finely processed Gastrodiae rhizoma powder and its counterfeits,a comparative study was made on Gastrodiae rhizoma powder and its counterfeits by use of synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy.The 3D synchronous fluorescence spectra and contour spectra of Gastrodiae rhizoma powder,Trichosanthis radix powder,and Mirabilis jalapa L.powder were obtained by use of FLS920 fluorescence spectrometer made by Edinburgh Op to-electronic Equipment.It is found that the spectral images of the above three materials differ significant-ly.Through subsequent analysis on synchronous fluorescence spectra and contour maps when different counterfeits are mixed into the Gastrodiae rhizoma powder,the results show that there are obvious differences between the spectral images of the pure Gastrodiae rhizoma powder solution and the Gastrodiae rhizoma powder solution with counterfeits added.This experimental method is easy to conduct real-time online detection with no need in complex preprocessing and purification.Meanwhile,the 3D synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy studies the fluorescence characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine in view of their overall characteristics from comprehensive perspective,and reduces the difficulty in spectral analy-sis.Its contour map has the characteristics of fingerprint,which can enrich the information of fingerprint database of tradi-tional Chinese medicinal materials,and provide reference for the identification of multi-component traditional Chinese medici-nal materials.