ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical effect of entecavir combined with antituberculosis therapy in patients with tuberculosis complicated by chronic HBV infection. MethodsA total of 108 patients with tuberculosis complicated by chronic HBV infection were divided into entecavir group with 58 patients and control group with 50 patients. The patients in the entecavir group were given entecavir from 1 month before antituberculosis therapy to the end of antituberculosis therapy, and those in the control group were given antitubercular agent alone. The incidence of liver injury and clinical symptoms, time to appearance of abnormal liver function, and time to liver function recovery were compared between the two groups. The two-independent-samples t test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsCompared with the control group, the entecavir group had significantly higher incidence rates of abnormal liver function (29.31% vs 64.00%, χ2=8.475, P＜0.05) and clinical symptoms of liver injury (17.24% vs 28.00%, χ2=5.534, P＜0.05). There were significant differences in the time to appearance of abnormal liver function (25.1±10.2 d vs 20.1±8.9 d, t=2.675, P＜0.05) and time to liver function recovery (26.5±9.8 d vs 32.6±11.2 d, t=3.778, P＜0.05). ConclusionEntecavir can significantly reduce the incidence of liver injury caused by antituberculosis therapy, postpone the time to appearance of liver injury, and accelerate liver function recovery in patients with tuberculosis complicated by chronic HBV infection.