Objective To explore the therapeutic effect on postoperative ileus with Li Ke's academic thought of traditional Chinese medicine: by mediating the Qi in the middle energizer(Stomach and Spleen). Methods Using prospective clinical observation cohort study, 82 patients with postoperative ileus were randomly divided into two groups on average: the observation group was treated with Western medicine and Chinese medicine decoction in which prescribed by the principle of mediating the Qi in the middle energizer(stomach and spleen). while the control group was treated with Western medicine only. Results The effective rate of the observation group was 95.12%, the average time of first farting of the patients was(12.46±2.75) h, the average time of first defecation was (31.52±5.38)h, the average time of complete disappearance of abdominal pain and abdominal distension was (15.71±3.57) h, and the average hospital stays was (18.69±3.82) d. In the control group, the effective rate was 73.17%, the average time of first farting of the patients was (36.57±2.75)h, the average time of first defecation was (62.39±5.73)h, the average time of complete disappearance of abdominal pain and abdominal distension was (42.58±8.27)h, and the average hospital stays was (25.95±5.84)d. Compared with the control group, the effective rate was higher in the observation group (P <0.05), and the symptom improvement time in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion For the treatment of postoperative ileus, western medicine combined with Chinese medicine decoction in which prescribed by the principle of mediating the Qi in the middle energizer(stomach and spleen) is better than Western medicine only.