Abstract: Objective To reveal the different effects of basic medical knowledge and PBL on comprehensive abilities of undergraduate student, and provide evidence for medical education reform. Methods Choose one case aimed at Hepatitis B virus (HBV), compare the scores of Microbiology, PBL scores and scores of final exam on case. Results Students with higher Microbiology scores got higher scores on scenario-related multiple choice question (MCQ-S) compared with students with lower Microbiology scores (P < 0.05). Students with higher PBL scores got higher scores on short answer question (SAQ) compared with lower PBL scores (P < 0.05). Conclusion Basic medical knowledge and PBL have different effects on comprehensive abilities of undergraduate students.

Key words: medical knowledge, problem-based learning, comprehensive ability