Abstract: Objective To improve the clinical recognition of nontuberculsis mycobacteria(NTM)pulmonary disease.Methods We analyzed retrospectively 37 cases of NTM pulmonary disease misdiagnosed by other diseases. All patients were admitted in our hospital during January 2008 and October 2011.Results Thirty-seven cases with NTM pulmonary disease were diagnosed through identification of mycobacterium strains by culture. These cases were misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculous in 20(54.1%)cases,bronchiectasis or pulmonary tuberculous complicated by bronchiectasis in 18(48.6%)cases,chronic bronchitis in 8(21.6%)cases,pneumoconiosis combined with tuberculosis in 3(8.1%)cases,bronchial asthma in 2 cases and pneumonia in 2 cases. Main clinical symptoms included cough in 37(100.0%),productive cough in 34(91.9%),haemoptysis in 30(81.1%),cavity 12(32.4%). Lesions distribution of chest radiology showed 31 cases in bilateral lung field and 6 cases in unilateral lung field. There were 12 cases with cavities in chest radiology. Among 29 cases completed chemotherapy duration,24 cases achieved sputum negative conversion. The sputum conversion rate was 82.8%.Conclusion NTM pulmonary disease is characterized by long course of disease and nonspecific symptoms. Most cases are commonly misdiagnosed by pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchiectasis. The efficacy with antituberculous therapy is poor.