Abstract: Nontuberculous Mycobacteria belonged to the Mycobacterium of Mycobacteriaceae of the Actinomycetales, the nontuberculous Mycobacteria distributed widely and could infect domestic animals and humans. In recent years, an increasing number of nontuberculous Mycobacteria disease had been discovered and reported, it had caused the researchers’s attention and interest. Because the nontuberculous Mycobacteria and Mycobacteria tuberculosis were similar in clinical manifestations, they were difficult for diagnosis. This paper expounded the pathogenicity of nontuberculous Mycobacteria from three aspects, susceptible population, infected part, growth in terms of infection and chronic, and illustrated their clinical symptoms, then compared several analysis and identified methods such as traditional method, phage analysis, polymerase chain reaction technology and nucleic acid probes. It supported that when the clinical characterization was similar, not only using traditional method for identification, but also using multiple separation method for combination of separation identification. It could reduce time and save cost, and we should continue to research and develop new analysis and identify methods.

Key words: nontuberculous Mycobacteria; Mycobacterium tubarculosis; pathogenicity; identification