Abstract: The extension of man's existence in time is history.Man's self consciousness of his own history has undergone the course of “historical outlook—historical theory—historical philosophy.”Historical philosophy has its own independent academic base.It is a intermediary subject between philosophy and history.The two branches of historical philosophy—historical thinking philosophy and historical critical philosophy—are of a inheriting relationship in theoretical form,and are complementary in historical noumenon and historical cognition.Historical materialism is the foundation of the dialectical unity of the branches of historical philosophy.

Key words: historical philosophy, historical thinking philosophy, historical critical philosophy, historical noumenon, historical cognition