Objective Through the analysis of a tuberculosis cluster epidemic in a university in Tongling City,the risk of tuberculosis epidemic in schools was discussed. Methods Using field epidemiological methods to conduct case search, analyze epidemiological correlation between cases and trace the source of infection. Results A total of 15 cases of tuberculosis among students were searched, of which 9 cases were epidemiologically related and were clustered epidemics. The first case returned to school without negative sputum smear was an important cause of clustered cases. The strong positive rate of tuberculin (PPD) test was 61.02% in close contacts with high exposure level,17.02% in close contacts with moderate exposure level. The detection rate of pulmonary tuberculosis in people with high exposure was 13.56%. No patients were found in close contacts with moderate exposure. Among the first-time exposed close contacts, the recurrence rate of pulmonary tuberculosis in strongly positive PPD group was 1.95 times higher than that in non-strongly positive PPD group. Conclusion The main reason for this clustered epidemic is that the source of infection has not been effectively managed. The key measures to prevent and control the epidemic of tuberculosis in schools are to manage the source of infection and to take preventive treatment on tuberculosis infected persons.