本文針對獸畜名義、分類和釋義同異三方面將《爾雅》〈釋獸〉、〈釋畜〉兩篇和《說文》進行比較。在名義上，《爾雅》「獸」、「畜」二字大部分是指脊索動物門哺乳綱的動物，又依其為野生或豢養而區分為「獸」、「畜」兩大類，〈釋畜〉中則又加入脊索動物門鳥綱中屬於家禽的雞類。在分類上，〈釋畜〉與《說文》分類較為精準；〈釋獸〉將17種不同物類的野生獸類僅歸屬於寓屬和鼠屬兩大類，《說文》將24種不同物類歸屬於28個部首。在釋義上，〈釋獸〉與《說文》獸類詞例釋義相同者有21條，不同者有30條；〈釋畜〉與《說文》畜類詞例釋義相同者有22條，不同者有14條。二書在分類和釋義上雖有簡略、錯誤之弊，但在反應史實、保存語料上仍有其價值。

This article compares the Explanation of Beasts（釋獸） and Explanation of Livestock （釋畜） in ErYa（爾雅） with Shuowen Jiezi（說文解字） in terms of the similarities and differences in the names, classifications and interpretations of beasts and livestock.In the name, The words "beast" and "livestock" in ErYa（爾雅） mostly refer to animals in the mammalian family of the Chordata. They are also categorized into "beast" and "livestock" according to whether they are wild or bred. In Explanation of Livestock（釋畜）, add chickens, which are poultry in the bird family of the phylum Chordata. In the classification, Explanation of Livestock（釋畜） and Shuowen（說文） are more accurate in categorization. Explanation of Beasts（釋獸） categorizes 17 different species of wild beasts into only two main groups: the genus Apes and the genus Rats. Shuowen（說文） classifies 24 different species into 28 radicals. In the interpretation, The definitions of Explanation of Beasts（釋獸）" are the same as those of Shuowen（說文） , 21 of which are the same, and 30 of which are different. The definitions of Explanation of Livestock（釋畜） are the same as those of Shuowen（說文） , 22 of which are the same, and 14 of which are different. Although the classification and interpretation of the two books are brief and erroneous. However, it still has its value in reflecting historical facts and preserving corpus.