A hospital based descriptive and longitudinal study with internalrncomparIson was carried out to describe the treatment initiation pattern andrncompliance rate among tuberculosis patients . All government health centerrnproviding tuberculosis treatment were part of the study, patients were interviewedrnby nurses in health center. The study was carried out in Addis Ababa betweenrnMay 9 1997 to September 25 1997. A total of 765 newly diagnosed tuberculosisrnpatients were enrolled in the study.rnThe median time from the onset of the illness until the initial medicalrnconsultation was 2 months (patient's delay). This delay was longer in uneducatedrnpatients.rnFifty percent of patients were put on treatment with correct diagnosis within 10rndays of first consultation (doctor's delay). Almost all patients had at least onernsymptom suggestive of tuberculosis at presentation and mean number ofrnconsultations before diagnosis was two .rnPatients who first visited private clinic had shorter doctor's delay thanrnthose who first saw government health institutions. The median total delay wasrnthree months at the time of treatment initiation. Overall patients compliancernduring the intensive phase of DOTS was 97 %.rnThe study concluded that the public should be educated about the earlyrnsymptoms of tuberculosis and the need to seek early medical attentionrnparticularly, those with little or no formal education.