The invention discloses a thin-layer 
chromatography method for simultaneously identifying four single medicinal materials from Lonicera and 
Forsythia powder, which comprises the following steps of: weighing Lonicera and 
Forsythia powder, adding 
methanol for extracting, filtering, evaporating filtrate to 
dryness in a water bath, adding water to dissolve residues, extracting by using a water-saturated n-butyl 
alcohol solution, adding water to wash a separated n-butyl 
alcohol layer, discarding water liquid, adding 
petroleum ether, layering, collecting an upper-layer solution, adding a 
methanol solution into the upper-layer solution, washing, collecting an upper-layer solution, 
drying by 
distillation, and dissolving residues with 
methanol to a constant volume of 0.5-2mL. According to the thin-layer 
chromatography identification method, as long as one 
test solution is prepared, the four medicinal materials including arctii fructus, liquorice, 
semen sojae praeparatum and schizonepetae spica can be simultaneously identified from a 
complex system of the 
traditional Chinese medicine Lonicera and 
Forsythia powder under two development conditions. The thin-layer identification time is shortened, the detection efficiency is improved, the consumption of reference substances and reagents is reduced, and the detection cost is greatly reduced.