Diabetes mellitus patients are usually at high risk of developing tuberculosis, the immune dysfunction caused by long-term high blood sugar, which can increase the susceptibility to tuberculosis. Severe tuberculosis could accelerate the course of diabetes mellitus and pose great difficulty to the clinical treatment. Therefore, early detection of potential tuberculosis patients in diabetes mellitus patients through tuberculosis screening and implementation of “three early” treatment can greatly improve the quality life of patients. This review summarizes the feasibility of tuberculosis screening in patients with diabetes mellitus, and to provide reference for the prevention and control of diabetes mellitus combined with tuberculosis.