Persistent hypertension is generally defined as the failure to achieve blood pressure despite regular use of three adequate doses of antihypertensive drugs with different mechanisms of action, including diuretics. These patients account for about 10% of the population receiving regular antihypertensive therapy and tend to have more cardiovascular complications and a poorer prognosis. Studies have shown that sympathetic overactivation is not only a key factor in the development and maintenance of hypertension, but may also play a role in the development of metabolic syndrome, congestive heart failure and end-stage renal disease. Therefore, inhibition of sympathetic overactivation is considered an important target for the treatment of recalcitrant hypertension and its associated complications. Ablation of the sympathetic nerves located in the outer membrane of the renal artery may inhibit sympathetic activation to a certain extent, as the efferent and afferent fibers of the renal sympathetic nerves play an important role in sympathetic activation. Recently, some hospitals in China have successfully performed radiofrequency ablation of the renal sympathetic nerve (RSD) in patients with recalcitrant hypertension using a catheter system dedicated to the ablation of the renal sympathetic nerve. This is a new technique for non-pharmacological treatment of intractable hypertension. Patients only need to puncture the femoral artery at the root of the thigh under local anesthesia and deliver the tip of a 1.3mm diameter RF ablation catheter into the renal artery to deliver RF energy to the outer membrane of the renal artery and selectively ablate the renal sympathetic nerve to achieve the treatment of intractable hypertension. The treatment is minimally invasive and takes less than 30 minutes to operate, with rapid postoperative recovery and few complications. As a new method of non-pharmacological treatment for intractable hypertension, RSD may have a broader clinical application prospect. In the future, we should actively and steadily carry out relevant clinical studies, explore the selection criteria for clinical indications, find immediate indicators to determine the success of the procedure and testing methods to predict the ablation effect, conduct long-term safety and efficacy risk-benefit ratio evaluation, and further improve the catheter ablation system.