Abstract: Time-resolved autofluorescence spectroscopies at 600 nm under 397 nm excitation have been measured for human nasopharyngeal normal and carcinoma tissues in vitro, respectively. The lifetimes of endogenous fluorophores can be indirectly calculated based on the two-component lifetime fitting of time-resolved autofluorescence spectroscopies. Sufficient difference was observed between normal and carcinoma tissues, and the average lifetimes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and normal tissues are about (2.94(0.51 ) ns and (4.29(0.71) ns, respectively. In this prospective study, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue are 75 % and 100 %. Experimental results indicate that time-resolved autofluorescence spectroscopy is a very sensitive and promising technique for classification of early nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue.