Stroke is a common and frequent disease of the nervous system, and has become a major cause of harm to the health and lives of middle-aged and elderly people in China, with high incidence, disability and mortality rates, and is one of the three major diseases causing human death. In recent years, epidemiological data in China show that stroke ranks first in the order of death in the population. The annual incidence, annual mortality and point-in-time prevalence of stroke in China’s urban areas are 219/100,000, 116/100,000 and 719/100,000, respectively; in rural areas are 185/100,000, 142/100,000 and 394/100,000, respectively, according to which it is estimated that the annual number of new stroke patients in the country is about 2 million; the annual number of patients who die from stroke is about 1.5 million; the number of surviving patients is 6 million to 7 million. The geographical distribution of cerebrovascular diseases in China shows that the incidence of stroke is higher in the north than in the south, and higher in the west than in the east. There are obvious seasonality, with high incidence in the cold season, especially for hemorrhagic stroke. According to domestic epidemiological data, the incidence and mortality of stroke are significantly higher in males than in females and show a sharp increase after the age of 35. With the progress of society and the improvement of people’s living standards, as well as the acceleration of the aging process of the population, the age of stroke onset tends to advance, but the high incidence age is gradually postponed backward. It has also been shown that the distribution of stroke is related to socioeconomic status, occupation and race. Stroke has a high disability rate, and about 3/4 of patients are left with severe disability and loss of working ability, which imposes a heavy burden on society and families.