顾炎武的训诂在其学术中占据重要地位。总的来看，顾氏的训诂内容非常丰富，涵盖解释词义、分析句读、阐述语法、说明修辞、阐明表达方法、校勘文本等各个方面。
    顾氏运用的训诂方法也十分多样，包括以形索义、因声求义、比较互证、核证文献、以实考名、异文对照等。顾氏初步认识到字形、字音、字义的互动关系，通过分析字形和字形来推求文献词义。他又旁征博引，通过广泛搜求文献例证来证明词义，并将历史事实和普遍现实作为训诂之辅证。此外，顾氏重视异文在训诂中的作用，藉由异文确认字际关系，进而确认文献词义。
    在训诂特色方面，顾氏坚持以语言为本位，朴素地理解经文，广泛运用古注，带有总结学术史的自觉。他的训诂还带有明确的经学指向和现实导向。他以训诂为基础，使经学研究获得丰富的可能性，重启经学与理学、史学、实学等各个领域的对话。
    顾氏的训诂在后世产生深远的影响，不论吴派还是皖派都承续了他的学术主张和学术理路，并对其训诂进行了更加充分的发扬。当然，顾氏也存在误判《说文》、疏于因声求义等不足之处。

    Gu Yanwu's exegesis occupies an important position in his academic research. In general, Gu's exegetical content is very rich, covering various aspects such as explaining the meaning of words, verifying sentence segmentation, explaining grammar, explaining rhetoric, clarifying expression methods, and collating texts.
    The exegetical methods used by Gu are also diverse, including glyphs-centric, phonetic sound-centric, and context-centric method. He also used compared and mutual reflection, and thought highly of varia lectio and historical reality. Gu initially recognized the interactive relationship between glyphs, sounds and meanings. He inferred the meaning of literature by analyzing the glyphs and sounds. He also collected a lot of documents to prove the meaning of words, and took historical facts and universal reality as supplementary evidence. In addition, Gu attached great importance to the role of varia lectio in exegesis. He confirmed the inter-character relationship through varia lectio, and then confirmed the meaning of words.
    In terms of exegetical characteristics, Gu insisted on language-oriented standard, simple understanding of scriptures, and extensive use of quoting the former scholars’ annotations. He had the consciousness of summarizing academic history. His exegesis has a clear orientation of Confucianism and innovative applications on reality. Based on his exegesis, he made the study of Confucianism rich in possibilities, and restarted the dialogue between Confucianism, neo-Confucianism, history, pragmaticism and other fields.
    Gu's exegesis had a profound influence in later generations. Both the Wu School and the Anhui School continued his academic proposition and rationale, and carried forward his exegetics more fully. Of course, Gu also had some shortcomings such as misjudgment of Shuo Wen Jie Zi and neglecting to phonetic sound-centric method.