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Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect and safety of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) associated with uveitis. Methods: Eighty patients with uveitis associated with AS hospitalized from June 2011 to June 2013 were randomly divided into the observation group and control group. Forty cases in the observation group received subcutaneously injection of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor 25mg twice per week, in combination with oral methotrexate 10mg per week and ophthalmologic local application for 12 weeks. Forty cases in the control group received oral sulfasalazine 750mg three times per day, in combination with oral methotrexate and ophthalmologic local application with the same dosage and course. The ocular condition, ESR, CRP, BASDAI and BASFI index were evaluated and compared before and after treatment between two groups. Results: The assessment indexes were significantly improved in both groups after treatment (P<0.05). The improvement was not significant between observation group and control group (P>0.05), while uveitis course was significantly shorter in observation group than that in control group (P<0.05). During the treatment process, no severe adverse event happened in both groups. Conclusion: Tumor necrosis factor inhibitor in combination with methotrexate and ophthalmologic local application treatment had prominent effect, which could shorten the uveitis course and was well tolerable and safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]