Objective To compare the sensitivity and specificity of interferon-gamma release assay(IGRA) in the Tibetan and Han patients with pulmonary tuberculosis(TB),and to investigate its clinical application value for screening Tibetan patients with pulmonary TB.Methods Sixty-four Tibetan cases of pulmonary TB,41 Tibetan cases of non-pulmonary TB,40 Han cases of pulmonary TB and 38 Han cases of non-pulmonary-TB in our hospital from April 2013 to April 2015 were selected and performed IGRA.T cells infected by mycobacterium tuberculosis were detected by ELISA.The difference between Tibetan abd Han nationalities was compared.The clinical value of IGRAfor screening Tibetan patients with pulmonary TB was evaluated by calculating the statistical indicators.Results The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of IGRA for diagnosing Tibetan pulmonary TB were 90.62%(58/64),80.49%(33/41),87.88%(58/66) and 84.62%(33/39) respectively,which for diagnosing Han patients with pulmonary TB were 92.50%(37/40),84.21%(32/38),86.05%(37/43) and 91.43%(32/35) respectively.The sensitivity and specificity of IGRA for diagnosing Tibetan and Han pulmonary TB had no statistical difference(χ2=0.005,P=0.944;χ2=0.018,P=0.893).Conclusion IGRA has high value for early diagnosis of Tibetan pulmonaty TB and is conducive to screening of early pulmonary TB.