Standard Panax notoginseng and its counterfeit Curcuma longa, Atractylodes macrocephala were identified fast and nondestructively by Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-IR). Compared with conventional IR spectra of the samples, some certain differences were found in the characteristic peaks of flavonoids, aromatics and glycosides. In the range of 1 200-700 cm^-1, it’s easy to find the fingerprint characteristic peaks of starch in the infrared spectra of Panax notoginseng and Curcuma longa, but Atractylodes macrocephala not. According to the relative intensity of starch characteristic peaks in the samples , it’s easy to find that the contents of starch in Panax notoginseng are higher than those in Curcuma longa, and Atractylodes macrocephala doesn’t contain starch. In the 2D-IR correlation spectra, the samples presented the differences in the position, number and relative intensity of autopeaks and correlation peak cluters. Consequently, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-IR) can be used to identified Panax notoginseng and its counterfeit Curcuma longa, Atractylodes macrocephala.