Abstract: Pungent-hot (including pungent-warm) components from Chinese herbal medicines can effectively treat obesity due to their yang-warming effect, and their main mechanism of action is related to promote white adipose tissue browning. On the basis of summarizing the role of white adipose tissue browning, this article systematically reviews the fat-reducing effect and mechanism of pungent-hot Chinese herbal components in promoting white adipose tissue browning in recent years, and finds that capsaicin and cinnamaldehyde are the main representative components, with a synergistic effect with cold environment. This article also focuses on discussing the application prospects of local delivery of pungent-hot Chinese herbal components for thermogenic fat reduction, and puts forward three aspects of prospects: exploring new mechanisms, applying new technologies, and developing sesquiterpene components for local fat reduction. This article will provide a scientific basis for the development of fat-reducing applications of pungent-hot Chinese herbal components, and offer new ideas for the medicinal property characterization of pungent-hot Chinese herbal medicines based on adipocyte thermogenesis.