Abstract: OBJECTIVE To explore the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens causing community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections so as to provide guidance for use of antibiotics for clinical treatment of the community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections. METHODS The specimens were collected from the patients with community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections who were treated in the hospital from Jan 2012 to Dec 2014 and were cultured for pathogens, then the isolated pathogens were identified by using VITEK-32 bacterial identification system of BioMérieux, France, the drug susceptibility testing was carried out by means of K-B disk diffusion method, and the statistical analysis was performed with the use of SPSS18.0 software. RESULTS A total of 720 strains of pathogens were isolated from 2012 to 2014; as compared with the year of 2012 or 2013, the isolation rates of gram-positive bacteria and fungi were increased in 2014, while the isolation rate of gram-negative bacteria was decreased. Enterobacteriaceae strains were susceptible to the carbapenems such as meropenem and imipenem; the drug resistance rate of the Escherichia coli was generally lower than that of the Klebsiella pneumoniae; the drug resistance rate of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa to imipenem was remarkably increased; the Acinetobacter baumannii remained susceptible to imipenem; the Staphylococcus was highly susceptible to vancomycin, and the drug resistance rate to penicillin was very high. CONCLUSION The unreasonable use of antibiotics is the leading factor for the changes of distribution and drug resistance rates of pathogens causing the lower respiratory tract infections. It is necessary to conduct the surveillance of distribution and drug resistance of the pathogens causing the lower respiratory tract infections, reasonably use antibiotics, and appropriately decrease the rate of antibiotic prophylaxis so as to improve the effects on treatment of infectious diseases.