The work aims to analyze the influence of the "embodied knowing" philosophy on traditional creation thinking, and explain the contemporary cognitive model of design under the "embodied knowing" philosophy. By comparing and analyzing the structure of traditional Chinese "embodied knowing" and western "cognition", the characteristics of holistic, intuitive, practical and relational thinking models contained in embodied knowing were explored, and the cognitive model of design under the "problem solving mode" of design was studied. The basis of embodied knowing activity is the unity of heaven and man under holistic thinking. The main body of embodied knowing activity is the unity of body and mind under intuitive thinking. The method of embodied knowing activity is the unity of knowledge and action under practical thinking. And the result of embodied knowing activity is the two-in-one generation under relational thinking. The cognitive model of design under the philosophy of embodied knowing is manifested as the process of meeting constraints and achieving goals under the holistic thinking, the process of seeking representations under the intuitive thinking, the process of action reflection and problem setting under the practice thinking, and the process of association and combination under the relational thinking.