Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcome of the aged patients with disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis (DPT). Methods A total of 96 patients with identified DPT admitted in our department from January 2006 to April 2014 were subjected in this study. According to their age, they were divided into the aged group (n=42) and the non-aged group (n=54). The clinical features and outcomes of 2 groups of patients were retrospectively analyzed. Results The aged group had a significantly higher incidence of complications than the non-aged group (66.7% vs 24.1%, P=0.000). The positive rate of tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) test, and the levels of hemoglobin and albumin were obviously lower in the former than in the latter group (P<0.05). Compared with the non-aged group, the patients of the aged group had significantly higher misdiagnosis rate (45.2% vs 24.1%, P=0.029), lower recovery rate (52.4% vs 77.8%, P=0.009) and higher mortality (11.9% vs 1.9%, P=0.044). Conclusion The aged DPT patients have lower recovery rate, higher mortality and misdiagnosis rate. Special attention should be paid to them in clinical practice.