Abstract: Objective To provide evidence for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) control through a contrastive analysis of epidemiological characteristics of active PTB cases between Nujiang Lisu Autonomous prefecture (NUJ) and Yunnan province. Methods Data of 2482 active PTB cases in NUJ and 90 546 active PTB cases in Yunnan from 2008—2011, that obtained from tuberculosis information management system, were compared. Results The average age of active PTB cases in NUJ (35.8±14.77) was younger than that in Yunnan (41.9±17.37) (t=17.24, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the proportion of male cases between NUJ (68.7%(1705/2482)) and Yunnan (68.1%(61 658/90 546)) (χ²=0.399, P>0.05). The proportion of cases in household register population of NUJ (99.3%(2464/2482)) was higher than the provincial level (95.7%(86 623/90 546)) (χ²=77.49, P<0.01). There were more cases seeking health care actively in NUJ (91.7%(2275/2482)) than in Yunnan (82.0%(74 277/90 546)) (χ²=153.6, P<0.01). The proportion of retreated cases was higher in NUJ (10.6%(263/2482)) than that at the provincial level (7.5%(6813/90 546)) (χ²=32.439, P<0.01). There were more non-smear positive (smear negative, no sputum examination and tuberculous pleurisy) cases in NUJ (54.4%(1349/2482)) than the provincial level (39.9%(36 111/90 546)) (χ²=206, P<0.01). The median of patient delay in NUJ (70 d) was longer than that in Yunnan (46 d). Conclusion The epidemic situation of active PTB in NUJ is severer than the provincial level, so that we should take specific TB prevention and control strategies in NUJ.