Objective  To examine the status and relevant factors of tuberculosis knowledge acquisition among intra-provincial and inter-provincial migrant populations for providing references to the promotion of tuberculosis knowledge awareness in the populations.

  Methods  We extracted information on status and its influencing factors of tuberculosis knowledge acquisition among of 205 990 migrants from a national dynamic survey on migrant populations′ health and family planning conducted in 2015 in 31 provinces (municipalities and districts) across China. We analyzed the data using SPSS 20.0.

  Results  Of the 205 990 migrants, 37.6% (77 460) reported acquisition of tuberculosis knowledge during the previous one year and the knowledge acquisition ratio was significantly higher among intra-provincial migrants than among inter-provincial migrants (40.4% vs. 34.8%, χ² = 672.948; P < 0.001). The major routes of tuberculosis knowledge acquisition for the intra- and inter-provincial migrants were via bulletin boards (reported by 79.4% and 74.0% of the knowledge gainers) and broadcast/TV programs (by 74.5% and 72.1% of the gainers). Unconditional multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the intra-provincial migrants with following characteristics were more likely to acquire tuberculosis knowledge: aged 40 years or older, education of senior high school or above, after-tax familial monthly income of 3 000 RMB Yuan or more, migrating experience of 8 years or longer, and immigrating into provinces in western area of China; while, the intra-provincial migrants of married, not being an employee of a private enterprise, with migrating experience of 4 – 7 years, and immigrating into central or eastern area of the province were less likely to acquire tuberculosis knowledge. For the inter-provincial migrants, those with following features were more likely to acquire tuberculosis knowledge: aged 30 – 49 years, junior high school or higher education, familial monthly expenditure of 4 000 RMB Yuan or more, 4 – 8 years′ experiences of migration, and immigrating into provinces in western area of China; whereas, those neither being an employer nor an employee of a private enterprise and immigrating into provinces in eastern area of China were less likely to acquire tuberculosis knowledge.

  Conclusion  The rate of tuberculosis knowledge acquisition is higher among intra-provincial migrants than among inter-provincial migrants and the tuberculosis knowledge acquisition is influenced by age, education, occupation, years of migration, and their immigrating area among migrant population in China.