Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of t-spot test (T-SPOT.TB) combined with adenosine deaminase (ADA) in tuberculous pleuritis. Methods 60 patients with tuberculous pleurisy hospitalized in the departments of respiratory medicine and general practice of Meizhou People's Hospital between January 2016 and December 2018 were enrolled in the study. All the patients were examined by blood T-SPOT.TB and ADA. The diagnostic coincidence rate, false positive rate,false negative rate, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, specificity and sensitivity of the three detection methods of T-SPOT.TB, ADA, and T-SPOT.TB combined with ADA were also analyzed. Results The diagnostic coincidence rate of ADA, T-SPOT.TB and T-SPOT.TB combined with ADA was 75%, 80.00% and 93.33%, respectively. The diagnostic coincidence rate of the combined test was higher than that of the detection method (P<0.05). The misdiagnosis rate and missed diagnosis rate of blood T-SPOT.TB combined with ADA were 33.3% and 1.75%, respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value of blood T-SPOT.TB combined with ADA test were 98.2% and 66.6%, respectively. The negative predictive value of combined T-SPOT.TB combined with ADA test was higher than that of the single test (P<0.05). The specificity and sensitivity of the T-SPOT.TB combined with ADA were 98.79% and 97.87%, respectively, and the sensitivity of the combined test was higher than that of the single test (P<0.05). Conclusion Blood T-SPOT.TB combined with pleural effusion ADA has higher diagnostic value in patients with tuberculous pleurisy and is worthy of clinical application.