Objective To explore the value of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. Methods Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was used in 532 elderly persons aged 60 years and over in Xuzhou city Gulou county. The 69 healthy people and patients with mild cognitive impairment were chosen to undergo MoCA. Then the sensitivity and specificity of MoCA were analyzed. Results According to MMSE, there were 19 patients with mild cognitive impairment (27. 5 %), 50 healthy persons (72.5 %). While according to MoCA, there were 58 patients with mild cognitive impairment (84.1%), 11 healthy persons (15.9 %). The consistency of the two scales was not good. And compared with MMSE, the sensitivity of MoCA was 94.7%, and the specificity was 20. 1%. Conclusions In the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, MoCA is more sensitive than MMSE.