OBJECTIVE: To study the significance of plasma neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) and its markers in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. METHODS: A total of 160 children with CAP were enrolled as the CAP group, and 50 healthy children were enrolled the control group. According to disease severity, the CAP group was further divided into a mild CAP subgroup with 137 children and a severe CAP subgroup with 23 children. According to the pathogen, the CAP group was further divided into a bacterial pneumonia subgroup with 78 children, a Mycoplasma pneumonia subgroup with 35 children, and a viral pneumonia subgroup with 47 children. The levels of plasma NET and its markers [antibacterial peptide (LL-37), extracellular free DNA (cfDNA), and deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I)] were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of each index in diagnosing CAP and assessing its severity. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the CAP group had significant increases in the levels of NET, LL-37, and cfDNA and a significant reduction in the activity of DNase I (P<0.05). Compared with the mild CAP subgroup, the severe CAP subgroup had significantly higher levels of NET, LL-37 and cfDNA and a significantly lower activity of DNase I (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the levels of NET, LL-37, and cfDNA and the activity of DNase I among the bacterial pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumonia, and viral pneumonia subgroups (P>0.05). In the CAP group, plasma NET levels were positively correlated with white blood cell count (WBC), percentage of neutrophils, and serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin and tumor necrosis factor-α (r=0.166, 0.168, 0.275, 0.181 and 0.173 respectively, P<0.05); LL-37 and cfDNA levels were positively correlated with WBC (r=0.186 and 0.338 respectively, P<0.05) and CRP levels (r=0.309 and 0.274 respectively, P<0.05); the activity of DNase I was negatively correlated with CRP levels (r=-0.482, P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that NET, LL-37, cfDNA, and DNase I had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.844, 0.648, 0.727, and 0.913 respectively in the diagnosis of CAP, with optimal cut-off values of 182.89, 46.26†ng/mL, 233.13†ng/mL, and 0.39†U/mL respectively, sensitivities of 88.12%, 35.63%, 54.37%, and 91.25% respectively, and specificities of 74.00%, 92.00%, 86.00%, and 76.00% respectively. In the assessment of the severity of CAP, NET, LL-37, cfDNA, and DNase I had an AUC of 0.873, 0.924, 0.820, and 0.778 respectively, with optimal cut-off values of 257.7, 49.11†ng/mL, 252.54†ng/mL, and 0.29†U/mL respectively, sensitivities of 83.21%, 86.96%, 78.26%, and 95.65% respectively, and specificities of 78.26%, 83.94%, 76.64%, and 56.93% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma NET and its related markers have a certain value in diagnosing CAP and assessing its severity in children.