Qigong has a long history as medical care. It originated in Tang Yao period, laid the foundation for the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and developed in later dynasties. As early as more than 2000 years ago, there was a discussion about Qigong in medical works and other works in the pre-Qin period. Taoist Laozi and Zhuangzi both mentioned ancient Qigong in their works, such as Laozi's "Empty one's heart, fill one's abdomen", Zhuangzi's "Empty one's heart, keep one's peace", "Specializing in treating qi with softness, giving birth to babies", "Exhale and exhale, get new ideas, and bear stretches out the bird to pass" and so on. The earliest and most complete description of breathing exercises in existence is the inscription of "Qi-moving jade-wearing inscription" in stone carvings in the early years of the Warring States Period. 1973, among a batch of bamboo slips and silk medical books unearthed from Mawangdui No.3 Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, there are silk books and silk paintings describing Qigong. There are also many places related to Qigong in Huangdi Neijing, for example, in Su Wen Acupuncture Theory, "Those who have been treating kidney disease for a long time can keep their yin facing south, keep conscious and hold their breath for seven times, so as to lead their necks to swallow smoothly, such as swallowing hard things, and after seven times, they will induce body fluid countless times". The word Qigong first appeared in Xu Xun's Qigong Commentary in the records of Jing Ming religion in Jin Dynasty, but it was not widely used in ancient times, and only became popular in modern times. In ancient times, it was also called guidance and breathing. Be persuaded, etc. Ge Hong recorded the experience and methods of qigong health preservation in detail in Bao Puzi. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Tao Hongjing collected the experience of Qigong health preservation before the Six Dynasties, and edited it into a Record of Nourishing and Prolonging Life, accounting for half of the book's length. It consists of two parts: regulating breath and treating diseases and guiding massage, some of which are very similar to the dynamic and static exercises used now.

Fang's Etiology contains more than 260 methods of guiding qi and exhaling qi under most syndromes, which can be said to be a summary of Qigong therapy before Sui Dynasty. Sun Simiao's book "Taking China Pillow" contains two sections, namely, guiding and activating qi, which is devoted to ancient Qigong. Sun Shi particularly emphasized the respiratory exercise function of "rational breath, that is, all diseases are not born". It also introduces the concrete application of the six-character formula, as well as the eighteen movements of "Tianzhu Tuina Brahman Method" and "Laozi Tuina Method".

During the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Taoist alchemy rose, and ancient Qigong began to integrate some parts of it, which is the characteristic of the development of Qigong in this period. The Total Record of Holy Sites was a prescription for political affairs and China officials in the Northern Song Dynasty, with a huge volume. The original book does not have three parts: swallowing, guiding and taking, and focuses on qigong. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the development of ancient Qigong was characterized by more extensive mastery and application by doctors, with more than 60 kinds of Qigong health books. For example, the Secret of Health Protection lists the methods of guiding exercise for nearly 40 diseases. Li Shizhen, a famous doctor in Ming Dynasty, recorded some methods of practicing martial arts and put forward his experience of practicing martial arts. Detailed methods and precautions of regulating interest rate are recorded in the Collection of Medical Prescriptions written by Wang Qi 'an in Qing Dynasty.

After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), under the guidance of the government's Chinese medicine policy, Qigong therapy flourished and was widely used by more and more people as a fitness method.