Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease with no effective treatment. The etiology of ALS is unknown but it is related to many factors such as genetics, diet, environment, and lifestyle habits. The pathogenesis of ALS includes glutamate excitatory toxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and axon transport disruption. Currently, the approved ALS treatment drugs include Riluzole, Edaravone, Dextromethorphan/Quinidine and Tofersen injection. There are many drugs in clinical trails, but effective treatment options are still limited. This review summarizes the etiology and pathogenesis of ALS, and summarizes in detail the traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment methods for ALS, which has great practicability in clinical practice.