Abstract: Inder to evaluate the clinical application of PCR assay for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Genitourinary specimens were obtained from NG patients and Neisseria gonorrhoeae was detected with a number of tests including Gram's stain of smears, culture and PCRassay. The sensitivity and specificity of the NG-PCR assay were evaluated with 8 bacterial strains. The NG-PCR assay had a detection limit of 3 copies of NG genomic DNA. In the specificity of the PCRassay, the standard Neisseria gonorrheae was positive, but no PCR product could be visualized in 7 nongonorrhoeae strains. PCRresults of 47 NG patients were compared with those obtained by Gram's smear and culture. The positive rates for smear, culture and PCRwere 76.6%, 52.2% and 95.9%, respectively. Of 82 normal controls, 1 specimen was PCR positive. The false positive rate of the PCRassay was about 1.2%. The PCR assay is a satisfactory diagnostic tool for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in clinical specimens.

Key words: Neisseria gonorrhoeae, PCR, clinical applying