Stereotypes serve as categories of humanknowledge. Human beings have survived formillions of years partially because their minds cancategorize information around them. Thoughnecessary in our daily life， stereotypes have beenmisunderstood or abused in their scientific area inthe past three decades （Jussim， 2012）. To provide amore scientifically accurate and complete picture ofstereotypes as categories of knowledge， this articleaddresses three important issues. First， we examinehow stereotypes are culturally related to totemicbeliefs as part of human categorical representationsboth today and in ancient times. Second， we reviewrecent literature on stereotype accuracy andstereotype-based judgment of individuals. Third， weaddress how stereotypes as categories are connectedto the constructs of essence and entitativity.