Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of May-Grunwald-Giemsa (MGG) staining of cerebrospinal fluid in patients with cryptococcal meningitis. Methods The cerebrospinal fluid smears of 48 patients with cryptococcal meningitis in Xijing Hospital were subjected to India ink staining and MGG staining to detect Cryptococcus, and the diagnostic values of ink staining and MGG staining were compared according to the detection results. Results The India ink test was positive in 33 (68.8%) of 48 patients, while the MGG staining was positive in 46 (95.8%) of the 48 patients. MGG staining was significantly more sensitive than ink staining for diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis (P<0.005). Conclusions MGG staining increases the Cryptococcus detection rate up to 95.8% and can be finished in one step without need for special staining. It can be used as a conventional means of cerebrospinal fluid cytology in patients with central nervous system infection.