Abstract: In recent years, with the rapid development of rheumatology, guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) and the drug treatment strategies have been updated constantly. Based on the 2018 Chinese guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and combined with the 2015 ACR guideline and the 2016 EULAR guideline, this article analyzed the research advances in the pharmacogenetics of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), including methotrexate, leflunomide, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine. The relevant studies had focused on the research of drug transporter, drug-metabolizing enzyme, and drug target. The results of the study can be used as a reference for clinical drug selection though verification from clinical trials in large populations is still needed.