Objective  To examine prevalence features of tuberculosis (TB) in Tibet Autonomous Region (Tibet) and to provide evidences for improving measures and developing strategies of tuberculosis prevention in the region.

  Methods  We conducted a survey on TB at 20 sites (8 in urban and 12 in rural regions) selected using stratified random cluster proportional population sampling. Totally 30 312 permanent residents aged 15 years and above in all the study sites were recruited to receive a questionnaire interview and physical examination including chest x-ray screening for TB during 2014.

  Results  Among the residents, the weighted prevalence rate of active pulmonary, smear positive, and sputum culture positive TB were 758/100 000, 85/100 000, and 144/100 000, respectively. The TB prevalence rate was significantly higher among the male residents than among the female residents (P < 0.05) and the highest age-specific TB prevalence rate was observed among the residents aged 60 – 65 years. The TB prevalence rate showed a continuously decreasing trend during 1979 – 2014 in Tibet; the standardized annual TB prevalence decline rate during 1990 – 2014 was 33.8 times higher than that during 1979 – 1989 averagely.

  Conclusion  Although the TB epidemic was well controlled and the TB prevalence rate showed a continuous decrease trend in Tibet during 1979 – 2014, the overall control rate of TB prevalence is still lower than that of national level, suggesting that targeted measures should be implemented to control TB epidemic effectively in the region.