[6] This species is endemic to southeast China, where it occurs in the provinces of Guizhou, southwestern Henan, western Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and possibly Fujian.

[4] In Indonesia, especially in Java where it is known as klembak in Javanese, and it is usually dried, and mixed with tobacco and frankincense to create a rokok klembak menyan, a traditional Javanese frankincense cigarette.

The roots of Rheum officinale are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

[5][4] They are considered as a kind of "cold" herbs, used as a laxative in patients with constipation, sometimes accompanied by fever and even delirium.

In Chinese traditional medicine, R. officinale, in combination with a large variety of other herbs and modern medicine, has been used for the treatment of hepatitis B, although the results were found to be inconclusive.