Background Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Depression has been known to be widely associated with chronic systemic conditions. This common psychiatric co– morbidity is often neglected in medical set up which increases the healthcare burden and adversely affects the treatment outcome of patients suffering from tuberculosis. Material and methods 100 consecutive patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis in intensive phase of treatment admitted at RIMS, Ranchi were assessed for depression using clinical symptoms as per International Classification Of Diseases –10( ICD–10) and the severity evaluated using Beck’s Depression Inventory( BDI) after taking their informed consent. Statistical evaluation was done using SPSS software. Results Depression was found in 43% of the patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. Moderate level of depression was reported among the patients in highest fraction 55.8%. Conclusion The relation between tuberculosis and Depression is bidirectional . The chronicity of TB is likely to be associated with psychological problems like depression which adversely affect the prognosis of TB in the affected patients.