We performed this retrospective study for the evaluation of clinical, bacteriological and other laboratory findings of tuberculosis pleurisy cases. Total of 283 cases, 259 male and 24 female diagnosed as tuberculosis pleurisy were investigated. The mean age of the patients was 25.1±9.2 years. The diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisy for 143 (50.5%) cases was done by histopathological evaluation and for 140 (49.5%) cases was done by adenosine deaminase (ADA) level of pleural effusion and/or the other clinical and radiological findings. Fourty-one (14.5%) of pleural fluid specimens were detected as positive bacteriologically. Of these specimens, 12 were determined as positive by microscopic examination while 29 specimens by Löwenstein Jensen (LJ) culture and 33 specimens by BACTEC 460 TB culture system were positive. Total of 39 specimens were found as positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis by two culture methods. The microscopic examination of two pleural fluid specimens was positive whereas culture results of them were negative. Eighteen of these 41 specimens bacteriologically positive were negative by histopathological examination. Definitive diagnosis were made by bacteriologically in 12.8% (18/140) of pleural fluid specimens which were not diagnosed by the histopathological evaluation. Since microscopic examination and culture increase the ratio of definitive diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy we think that both histopathological and bacteriological examination should be absolutely performaed.