类书是中国所独有的一种文献体裁，在文献学和文化史上都有着重要的地位和作用。元代类书皆为私人编纂，它们继承了前代类书备检、教化的功能和传统，又结合了元代特殊的社会文化背景。较之前代，元代类书多具有普及性、商品性和实用性等特征。无论从体例还是内容上说，元代类书对后代类书的编纂均产生了深远的影响。元代南北混一，开放、多元的文化形势对类书编纂提出了新的要求，这是元代类书发展最为重要的外在因素。类书自身的性质和功能适应封建时代学术文化的发展，其一脉相承的编纂传统是促进其进一步发展的内因。元代类书包括综合博览、科举作文、通俗日用和童蒙教育四大类，在治学、讲学、应试、存礼、日用、营利等编纂动机下，通过自编、改编、续编等多种编纂方式，由书坊组织或文人学者自行编纂而成，之后又通过刊刻、抄写等方式流传于后世。 元代类书的编排体例不拘一格，以按韵编排和按类编排最为显著。其按韵编排的体例较之前代更为成熟，成为明代大型类书《永乐大典》体例之先导和参照。按类编排的体例承袭了前代“类聚事文”的传统，又出现了求全、提要等特点。元代类书的类目设置上产生了一批新的经目和纬目，分类更为深入合理，还具有内涵丰富的分类思想。这些形式和特征使元代类书汇聚材料的范围更为广泛，而且纲领明确，便于检索。元代类书有着丰富的史学价值和文献学价值。其中包含有元代及前代关于典章制度、文化教育、社会生活、社会生产等文化史和社会史方面的丰富史料，拓展了元史研究的资料来源，对于汉唐史和宋史研究亦有独特的史料价值。此外，元代类书中或整或散地保存了元代及前代典籍文献的原文材料，可以通过这些资料校勘传世文献、辑佚古书，进一步深化古文献学科研究的内容。

Being a kind of distinctive literature format in china, LeiShu has played an important role in philology and the history of culture. For compiled individually and combined peculiar society culture of Yuan Dynasty, the LeiShu of Yuan Dynasty possess characteristics including universal, commodity and pragmatism, which influenced the later generations deeply.On the basis of unifying the north and south, the LeiShu compilation was confronted with a new situation from the pluralistic and open-minded culture, this is the most important external factor influencing its development. The nature and function of LeiShu meet the demands of the knowledge and culture in feudal epoch, this continuing tradition is the intrinsic factor.The LeiShu of Yuan Dynasty includes the synthetically reading, examination and composition, commonsensible use, enfant reading 4 categories. Under the motivation of research, teaching, examination, custom saving, daily use and profit making, the publishing houses or scholars compiled LeiShu by the forms of self- editing, adapting and continuing edit, after which handed down to generations by printing, transcribing and so on.The compiling styles of the LeiShu of Yuan Dynasty are varied, in which the rhymed and categorized compilation are most obviously. The style of rhymed compilation is more mature than former, and it was the precursor and reference for the huge YONGLEDADIAN. Categorized compilation not only characterized by various classified catalogues, but also possesses wealth of classified ideas. These forms and characteristics made The LeiShu of Yuan Dynasty easier to search. The LeiShu of Yuan Dynasty has plenty of history and literature values, which including the history materials on the culture and society of that period and before. These series books can expand the sources of history materials in Yuan Dynasty, and they also have historical values in Han, Tang and Song Dynasties. After that, The LeiShu of Yuan Dynasty have kept entire or incomplete textual material of former generations, by means of which we can emend or collect ancient books, and further deepen the research on literature history.