"Treatment in accordance with time factor" is one of the key principles of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment. In clinical practice of acupuncture and moxibustion, the connotation of "timing/time factor" should be fully understood and the temporal rule on physiology and pathology affected by the changes of four seasons and day and night be grasped. Based on the change law of qi, blood, yin and yang and the rise and fall rules of pathogens and antipathogenic qi, the intervention is exerted timely. The dynamic law of acupoints should be associated with the changes in pathogenesis and illness location, thus, the acupoint selection, needle manipulation and needle withdrawal can be operated precisely. The idea of time factor should be considered in the whole process of clinical diagnosis and treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion so as to provide some guidance for clinical analysis and practice.
“因时制宜”作为针灸治疗的关键原则之一，针灸临床中应充分理解“时”的内涵，把握四时、昼夜作用于人体而呈现出的生理、病理上的时间性规律，基于气血阴阳的变化规律及邪正盛衰的进退规律，抓住时机、适时干预。将腧穴的动态性规律与病机病位的变化规律相结合，精准取穴、施术、起针；将时间因素贯穿针灸临床诊疗的全过程，为临证分析和临床实践提供一定的指导。.
Keywords: acupuncture and moxibustion treatment; idea of diagnosis and treatment; time factor; treatment in accordance with time factor.