Objective To assess the value of four different techniques of detecting the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in the diagnosis of tracheobronchial tuberculosis. Methods A total of 98 patients diagnosed as tracheobronchial tuberculosis were selected from May 1,2013 to June 30,2016. The clinical data was analyzed retrospectively,and the positive rates of MTB of the 960 cultrue, the direct smears , the modified Ziehl?Neelsen stain method and Xpert MTB/RIF assay were compared. Results The positive rates of the 960 cultrue,the direct smears,the modified Ziehl?Neelsen stain method and Xpert MTB/RIF assay were 20.4%(20/98),15.3%(15/98),70.4%(69/98) and 74.5%(73/98),respectively. Among the four techniques ,the positive rates of the modified Ziehl?Neelsen stain method and Xpert MTB/RIF assay were significantly higher than those of the 960 cultrue and the direct smears(P<0.05,respectively). However,no significant difference was found between the modified Ziehl?Neelsen stain method and the Xpert MTB/RIF assay (P > 0.05). Conclusions The modified Ziehl?Neelsen stain method and Xpert MTB/RIF assay for detecting the MTB in BALF have high clinical value in the diagnosis of tracheobronchial tuberculosis.