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To investigate the clinical value of Tie2‐expressing monocytes (TEMs) in the early diagnosis of lung cancer and assess its correlation with angiogenesis, a total of 184 patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 101 patients with benign pulmonary disease (BPD), and 77 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. The distribution of TEMs in lung tissue was determined by immunofluorescence staining. Lung microvascular density was assessed by immunohistochemical staining. Receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic value of TEM frequency. Patients with NSCLC were followed up for 26 months. We found that the TEM frequency in peripheral blood monocytes of patients with NSCLC was significantly greater than that in patients with BPD and healthy controls. TEM frequency showed a correlation with NSCLC recurrence. The majority of TEMs in tumor tissues were localized around blood vessels; tumoral TEM frequency showed a positive correlation with microvascular density. High percentage of TEMs in the peripheral blood was associated with poor overall survival. ROC curve analysis revealed the potential diagnostic value of circulating TEM frequency in NSCLC. Thus, we believe that TEM frequency is related to angiogenesis in tumor tissues and may serve as a diagnostic marker for NSCLC. What's new?: Lung cancer is associated with poor prognosis as most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Tie2‐expressing monocytes (TEMs) play an important role in tumor angiogenesis and tumor vascularity is associated with poor prognosis in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, the frequency of circulating TEMs was significantly higher in patients with NSCLC than in controls. ROC curve analysis revealed the potential diagnostic value of circulating TEM frequency in NSCLC. Furthermore, TEM frequency showed a correlation with NSCLC recurrence. The results may facilitate early detection of NSCLC and contribute to monitoring of recurrence in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]