Objective To investigate the evaluation value of serum interleukin-34 (IL-34), macrophage migration inhibitor (MIF), osteopontin (OPN) and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in the diagnosis and prognosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods Clinical data of 100 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis admitted from June 2019 to June 2022 were selected as an observation group and retrospectively analyzed. All patients received standardized anti-tuberculosis therapy for 6 months and were divided into a good prognosis group (76 cases) and a poor prognosis group (24 cases) according to the prognosis. Another 80 healthy volunteers who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. Serum levels of IL-34, MIF, OPN and hs-CRP were detected in each group, and the value of serum IL-34, MIF, OPN and hs-CRP in the diagnosis and prognosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve). Results Serum levels of IL-34, MIF, OPN and hs-CRP in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). ROC curve showed that serum IL-34, MIF, OPN, hs-CRP had a certain diagnostic value in active pulmonary tuberculosis, with area under ROC curve (AUC) of 0.864, 0.870, 0.865, and 0.880, respectively (all P<0.01), and the combination of the four indexes had a higher diagnostic value (AUC=0.902, P<0.01). Serum levels of IL-34, MIF, OPN and hs-CRP in the good prognosis group were lower than those in the poor prognosis group (all P<0.05). ROC curve showed that serum IL-34, MIF, OPN, hs-CRP had a certain value in evaluating the prognosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis, with AUC of 0.850, 0.874, 0.837, and 0.842, respectively (all P<0.01), and the combined value of the four indexes was higher (AUC=0.923, P<0.01). Conclusion The combined detection of serum IL-34, MIF, OPN and hs-CRP has high value in the diagnosis and prognosis assessment of active pulmonary tuberculosis.