Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mainly includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and it generally presents with diarrhea, abdominal pain, and bloody stools. The main difference between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is the location of the inflammation and the inflammation itself. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the digestive system, with jumping lesions that can occur from the mouth to the anus, mostly at the end of the ileum. In contrast, the onset of ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon and rectal portions. Microscopically, the development of ulcerative colitis is limited to the mucosa (epithelial tissue of the intestine), whereas Crohn’s disease affects the entire lining of the intestine. In addition, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis manifest in different proportions outside the intestinal tract, such as inflammation of the liver, arthritis, abnormal skin manifestations and inflammation of the eyes. The etiology and pathogenesis are not fully understood, and it is known that the inflammatory response resulting from an abnormal response of the immune system of the intestinal mucosa plays an important role in the pathogenesis of IBD, which is thought to be mainly due to multifactorial interactions, mainly including environmental, genetic, infectious and immune factors. The diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease requires the exclusion of other bacterial, viral, ischemic enteritis, etc. A number of tests must be performed such as hematological tests including hemoglobin and plasma proteins, white blood cell count, platelet count, and sedimentation; fecal tests including routine fecal examination, pathogenic examination; enteroscopy; and pathological examination. The diseases to be excluded in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease include chronic bacterial dysentery, amebic enteritis, schistosomiasis, colorectal cancer, IBS, intestinal tuberculosis, malignant lymphoma of small intestine, etc. The treatment of inflammatory bowel disease includes general treatment, mainly emphasizing dietary modification and nutritional supplementation, giving a high nutrition and low residue diet. Folic acid, B12 and other vitamins and trace elements should be given as appropriate. If necessary, anticholinergics or antidiarrheal drugs can be given for abdominal pain and diarrhea, and broad-spectrum antibiotics can be given by intravenous route for combined infections. Drug therapy is commonly used with aminosalicylic acid preparations such as salazosulfapyridine and mesalazine. Depending on the severity, immunosuppressive drugs such as prednisone, azathioprine, methotrexate, and 6-mercaptopurine are often used to relieve symptoms. Steroids are also commonly used to control flare-ups of the disease and were once used as maintenance agents. In recent years, biological therapies have also been used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Surgical treatment such as bowel resection, narrowing-plasty or temporary or permanent colostomy or ileostomy is required for patients who fail to respond to medication or develop severe complications. There are also different forms of alternative medical treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, although these methods focus on controlling the underlying pathology to avoid the side effects of long-term steroid medication and surgical resection. Inflammatory bowel disease can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and other discomforts, but is unlikely to be fatal. Some fatal complications such as toxic megacolon, bowel perforation, and complications from surgery are equally rare. Patients with ulcerative colitis are more likely than normal to develop colon cancer, and statistics show that the cancer rate is 2.8 times higher in patients with left-sided colitis, 15 times higher in patients with total colitis, and 162 times higher in patients with total colitis starting at an early age, while the risk of cancer in patients with Crohn’s disease is significantly lower than in patients with ulcerative colitis. Regular colonoscopy is an effective method for early detection of cancer.