Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (RR-TB) in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(Inner Mongolia) from 2017 to 2024, and provide evidence for development of effective prevention and control of drug-resistant pulmonary TB.

Methods The case information of RR-TB in Inner Mongolia from 2017 to 2024 were collected from National Infectious Disease Reporting Information Management System, and descriptive statistical analysis was conducted by using incidence rate and constituent ratio of the cases.

Results A total of 71 198 pulmonary TB cases were registered in Inner Mongolia from 2017 to 2024, with the incidence rate showing a decrease from 40.09/100 000 in 2017 to 30.39/100 000 in 2024, in the pulmonary TB cases, 2 123 were RR-TB cases, with an annual reported incidence rate of about 1.08/10 000, accounting for 2.98% of all the pulmonary TB cases. The constituent ratio of RR-TB cases showed an upward trend (trend χ²=40.808, P<0.001). In the RR-TB cases, 1 536 were men and 587 were women, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.62∶1. The RR-TB cases were mainly distributed in age group 45−<55 years, and the RR-TB cases were mainly new cases (49.41%), followed by relapsed cases (33.35%). the proportion of the cases with diabetes in drug-resistant and sensitive pulmonary TB cases increased significantly from 1.59% in 2019 to 21.29% in 2024 (trend χ²=7.159, P=0.007,χ²=17.032, P<0.001).

Conclusion The registration rate of pulmonary TB cases decreased in Inner Mongolia from 2017 to 2024, while the registration rate of RR-TB cases remained at about 1.08/100 000. However, the proportion of RR-TB cases increased year by year, and efforts should be made to strengthen the prevention and control of drug-resistant pulmonary TB.