Objective?To describe the diagnostic utility of transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) in patients with isolated intrathoracic lymphadenopathy due to tuberculosis (TB).?Methods?Patients with tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLA) as the final diagnosis were retrospectively analyzed among patients in whom TBNA had been performed. All patients underwent routine clinical assessment and CT scan prior to TBNA. Demographic data, pathological findings, and microbiological results were recorded.?Results?Fourty-four patients were enrolled. TBNA diagnosed TB intrathoracic lympadenopathy in 42 (95.4 %) patients. In 2 patients, TBNA was not able to confirm a diagnosis and additional procedures were required. Cytopathological findings alone revealed TB in 32 (72.7 %) patients. One of the patients (2.2 %) was smear positive while microbiological investigations provided a positive culture of TB in 22 (50.0 %) patients. TB culture was positive in 10 of 12 patients in whom cytopathologic evaluation was not able to diagnose. Addition of mycobacterium culture to cytopathologic investigation has improved the diagnostic yield from 72.7 % to 95.4 %.?Conclusion?TBNA is a safe and effective first line investigation for evaluating isolated intrathoracic tuberculous lympadenopathy. Addition of mycobacterium culture to cytopathologic investigation improves the sensitivity of TBNA.