通过比勘焦循《毛诗草木鸟兽虫鱼释》的四种主要稿本，即台北“中央研究院”傅斯年图书馆藏二十卷本，以及上海图书馆藏一卷本、三十卷本和十一卷本，可以厘清该书的版本源流和编纂过程。《毛诗草木鸟兽虫鱼释》十一卷定本是以三十卷本为主要依据，旁参以二十卷本和一卷本为代表的早期稿本修订而成。焦循对三十卷本所做修订，在内容与体例两方面为十一卷定本之编纂奠定了基础。此后，焦循以三十卷本为底本，综合此前诸本所载考证成果，进行了变更体例、校订讹误、增补论证、改变观点、改换论点等一系列调整工作，最终于嘉庆四年定为十一卷本。厘清《毛诗草木鸟兽虫鱼释》的编纂过程与版本源流，有利于推进研究焦循的经学成就。

The version origin and compilation process of Annotations to the Plants and Animals in Mao Poetry written by Jiao Xun can be clarified by comparing the 20-volume manuscript collected in Fu Si-nian Library of Taipei Academia Sinica, the one volume manuscript, the 30-volume manuscript and the 11-volume manuscript kept in Shanghai Library. The 11-volume manuscript was revised mainly based on the 30-volume manuscript, referring to the 20-volume and the one volume and other early manuscripts at the same time. The 30-volume manuscript laid the foundation for the compilation of the 11-volume manuscript in terms of content and style. After that, Jiao Xun took the 30-volume manuscript as the base and made a series of adjustments, including adjusting the compilation style, correcting errors, changing the arguments and so on. He finished the definitive edition in 1799. Investigating the compilation process and edition source of this book is conducive to the study of Jiao Xun's academic achievements.