Abstract: Objective: To compare the indirect immunofluorescence staining effect of urinary podocytes by thinprep liquid-based cytologic test (TCT) with that by the conventional centrifugal smear method, and explore its clinical application value. Methods: The morning urine samples from 50 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy and 14 healthy controls were smeared with the TCT and conventional centrifugation method, respectively, and then the indirect immunofluorescence staining were performed to observe the morphology of podocytes. Results: For 64 urine samples, the satisfactory rate of TCT smears (85.94%) was significantly higher than that of conventional smears (50.00%), and the podocyte detection rate of TCT smears (73.47%) was also significantly higher than that of conventional smears (51.02%) (P＜0.05). When urinary podocytes of the same patient were positive by both methods, the reading effect of TCT smears was obviously superior to that of conventional smears. Conclusion: The TCT combined with indirect immunofluorescence staining is obviously superior to the conventional centrifugal smear method in the podocyte diagnosis of urine samples.