Abstract: Objective To understand the awareness of tuberculosis(TB)control and prevention in 4 universities in Shandong province and to provide evidence for the direction and priority of health education. Methods 815 students were selected through the cluster random sampling method,and they were interviewed face-to-face with a standard questionnaire. 800 valid questionnaires were collected eventually(among whom 610 were from Shandong and 190 were from other provinces),and the effective rate was 98.2%(800/815). The EpiData 3.1 software was used to set up the database and double entry of the data,Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0 were used for data analysis. Chi-square test was used for comparing difference of rates,α=0.05. Results The total awareness rate of 5 core information was 51.8%(2072/4000). In 5 core information,one specified as “People who cough,expectorating more than 2 weeks,or blood stained sputum,should be suspected of suffering from TB” had the lowest awareness rate(27.6%,221/800),followed by the awareness rate of 33.7%(270/800)for the core information that specified as “people who receive the TB examination and treatment in the TB control institute at county(district)level can enjoy the free policy”. 89.9%(719/800)college students knew that TB was a serious or very serious disease,and 55.5%(444/800)thought that TB has a great influence on learning. 33.1%(265/800)students had taken the initiative to learn tuberculosis knowledge,and 25.6%(205/800)had actively disseminated tuberculosis knowledge. The main sources of TB knowledge were “mentioned by others”(65.4%,523/800),“network”(51.5%,412/800),“explained by the medical staff”(44.3%,354/800), and “community activities”(36.5%,292/800). Poster was the most favorite materials in college students(51.0%,408/800). The total awareness rare to 5 core information of students from Shandong was 52.8%(1610/3050),which was higher than that in respondents from other provinces(48.6%,462/950)(χ²=5.009，P<0.05). Conclusion The awareness rate of TB in the 4 universities in Shandong is still low. Tuberculosis health education in university should be paid sufficient attention to.

Key words: Tuberculosis, pulmonary/prevention &, control, Awareness, Health education, Students, Questionnaires, Shandong province