Abstract: Objective To explore the diagnostic value of serum chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 9 (CXCL9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) in discriminating low-grade and high-grade glioma. Methods The serum levels of CXCL9 and TIMP-1 in the low-grade glioma group and high-grade glioma group were detected by ELISA. Results Compared to the low-grade glioma group, serum levels of CXCL9 and TIMP-1 in the high-grade gliomas showed significantly increased (P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of CXCL9 for discriminating the two groups was 0.758 (0.723, 0.793), the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 72.7% and 67.9%. The AUC of TIMP-1 was 0.722 (0.694, 0.751), the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 70.5% and 62.5%. When CXCL9 and TIMP-1 were used together, the AUC was 0.855 (0.792, 0.917), the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 80.4% and 76.1%. Compared to CXCL9 and TIMP-1 used alone, the AUC showed significantly improved (P = 0.014, P = 0.007). Conclusion The combined detection of CXCL9 and TIMP-1 may provide a potential method in the diagnosis of glioma.