Gallstone disease is briefly known as gallbladder stones. It is a disease in which stones occur in any part of the biliary system (including the gallbladder and bile ducts). Stones are formed in the gallbladder, where bile flow is slow and bile concentration is high, as a result of a metabolic disorder in the liver or a malfunction of biliary motility, which leads to the precipitation of solid components in the bile. Gallstones are as small as a grain of rice or even as large as a walnut, and can be one, two, or up to several thousand. The type and composition of stones are not identical, and the clinical presentation depends on whether the stones cause infection, biliary obstruction, and the location and extent of the obstruction. There are at least tens of millions of people worldwide who suffer from gallstones, regardless of country, region or ethnicity. Doctors in many countries, such as the United States, England, Germany, France, and Russia, have found that gallstone disease has a fairly high incidence in their respective countries. In the case of the United States, out of a total population of 230 million, 20 to 30 million people suffer from gallstones, and about 10% of adults have gallstones. In some Indian tribes in the United States, the incidence of gallstones is even higher, with more than 70% of adult women suffering from gallstones. Gallstones can cause a lot of pain and sometimes chills, fever, and jaundice, often making it impossible to work and live a normal life, and can even threaten the patient’s life, driving many to seek treatment. Each year, more than 500,000 people in the United States have their gallbladders removed due to the severity of the condition. Gallstone disease costs the United States billions of dollars in economic losses each year. Scientists have also observed that the number of people suffering from gallstones in developed countries is generally much higher than in developing countries, and the more developed the economy, the higher the incidence of gallstone disease. Gallstones are also very common in our country. In recent years, the number of people suffering from gallstones has been increasing year by year, and in many regional hospitals, gallstone disease has become one of the common diseases in general surgery wards. It is estimated that tens of millions of people in China also suffer from gallstones. Gallstones can cause so much physical, social, and economic damage, yet we are not quite sure how they are caused. Therefore, scientists in many countries have unanimously called for more research on gallstones, and some have even raised gallstone disease as a matter of national interest in order to draw the attention of the public to gallstone disease. Currently, scientists from various countries are conducting extensive and in-depth research on gallstone disease, studying the causes of gallstones, and exploring effective methods to prevent and treat gallstone disease.