Abstract: Objective To compare the reliability of immunomagnetic beads and density gradient centrifugation in purification and isolation of neutrophilic granulocytes from human peripheral blood. Methods Neutrophilic granulocytes were isolated with immunomagnetic beads and density gradient centrifugation,respectively.Their purity and recovery rate were determined with a blood cell counter in combination with microscopy and cell viability was detected with trypan-blue. Results The purity of neutrophilic granulocytes,isolated with immunomagnetic beads and density gradient centrifugation,was 98.76%±0.53% and 92.34%±1.57% respectively,with a recovery rate of 90.01%±2.24% and 82.20%±2.17% respectively,and a cell viability of 95.60%±2.30% and 94.20%±3.11% respectively. Conclusion The purity and recovery rate of neutrophilic granulocytes isolated with density gradient centrifugation are better than those of neutrophilic granulocytes isolated with immunomagnetic beads.However,there is no significant difference in cell viability of neutrophilic granulocytes after they are isolated.