In recent years, with the progress of clinical research on rheumatologic diseases, there has been a better understanding of the treatment methods and strategies for these diseases at home and abroad. The international rheumatology community has gradually recognized the treat to target concept, which takes complete remission or minimal activity as the treatment goal, thus enabling clinicians to develop aggressive and standardized treatment plans for patients with confidence. This treatment strategy will certainly play a positive role in promoting the treatment of rheumatic diseases in China. I. Proposal of target therapy It has been demonstrated that the occurrence and progression of rheumatic immune diseases such as RA and SLE are mainly attributed to the abnormal activation and proliferation of pathogenic T cells, B cells and other immune cells, and the resulting production of various inflammatory mediators, cytokines and autoantibodies, which lead to the occurrence of immune inflammatory lesions such as synovitis and vasculitis. In clinical practice, the above-mentioned lesions can be controlled or brought to minimal activity in most patients by the use of lesion-relieving antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) or different immune agents. The former means complete clinical remission without the fear of lesion progression, while the latter is also the maximum disease control with long-term disease stabilization or minimal progression and is a desirable treatment strategy for patients with severe or advanced disease. Targeted therapy is a concept that should be taken seriously by rheumatologists. As with the treatment of hypertension and diabetes, the immune abnormalities and inflammatory changes in RA, SLE and AS can be controlled with standardized and rational medication, thus stopping the progression of the lesions. Therefore, the clinical goal must be to control the progression of lesions and achieve “complete remission”, not just symptom reduction or clinical “partial remission”. From the intensive treatment approach for RA published in The Lancet in 2004 to the Best study in 2007, the concept of aggressive medication and complete remission or “goal therapy” has been emphasized. There is no doubt that this goal of active treatment until complete remission under the premise of drug safety has become a consensus in the rheumatology community at home and abroad. The goal of rheumatic disease treatment is to achieve complete clinical remission, that is, the disappearance of active symptoms and signs. If complete remission cannot be achieved, “minimum disease activity” should be used as an alternative goal. In summary, the strategy of target treatment should at least include the following aspects: 1. Early treatment Research has proved that the irreversible damage in the early stage of rheumatic immune diseases is small, and the majority of patients can achieve complete remission with standard treatment. Therefore, once the diagnosis of RA, SLE, etc. is clear, treatment such as DMARD or immune agents should be given early. In recent years, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) have proposed new classification criteria for RA, SLE and AS. Understanding and applying these new criteria can help early diagnosis and early treatment, thus improving the prognosis of patients. 2. Active medication In the treatment of RA and SLE, the remission rate of combination medication, intensive therapy and multi-target therapy regimen is significantly higher than that of conventional therapy. Under the premise of no adverse effects, active and standardized medication can undoubtedly bring more patients with rheumatic immune disease into remission. Individualized treatment Different patients have different degrees of disease, affected organs, individual characteristics and response to drugs. Therefore, the individualization of patients’ medication regimen should be emphasized. For example, the dose and duration of DMARD, immunosuppressants and hormones must be different in different patients. In clinical practice, the most effective treatment regimen without significant adverse effects must be selected for each patient and adhered to for a sufficient duration so that the patient’s condition can be relieved. For a few patients with severe or advanced disease, individualized treatment should be emphasized to control the disease to the “lowest disease activity”. 4. Close follow-up After reaching the expected goal of complete remission, it is still necessary to adhere to the medication for a certain period of time, as premature discontinuation of treatment may cause relapse of the disease and make it twice as difficult to induce treatment again. To summarize, “target treatment” is to evaluate the activity of the disease through the doctor’s understanding of the patient’s disease degree, activity and laboratory indicators, and to improve the patient’s prognosis and quality of life through standardized treatment to achieve sustained remission of the disease. The significance of target treatment The development of rheumatology and immunology specialty in China can be described as rapidly changing, but the current status of treatment is still not optimistic. The proportion of patients who have used DMARD for the first time in the rheumatology and immunology specialty of tertiary hospitals is only 44%, and more than half of the patients have never used DMARD or have not used it regularly. Two domestic surveys found that the 5-year survival rate of SLE patients is only 86% to 91%, a large number of SLE patients with prolonged, long-term remission, and eventually renal insufficiency, central nervous system involvement or serious infection, and even life-threatening. However, this status quo is not unchangeable, and most of these patients can be remitted through standard treatment, but clinicians and patients need to recognize the importance of remission as the goal of treatment. Therefore, it is urgent to promote the concept of target therapy and standardized drug use in China. It should be recognized that early, aggressive and individualized treatment is the way to remission for patients with rheumatic immune diseases.