Nowadays, severe infection has become one of the common problems in clinic. The morbidity of severe sepsis and septic shock is increasing, which becomes a big threat to patients with burn wounds or chronic diseases. It has become a key subject about how to cure severe sepsis and septic shock. In recent years, mortality of patients in such condition has declined slightly, which might be attributed to the application of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) in certain degree. This article reviews application of EGDT in severe sepsis and septic shock, in order to analyze its effectiveness and boundedness, as well as predict its development.