Objective To investigate the CT characteristics and pathological basis of adenovirus pneumonia in military. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the CT scanning of 14 patients with adenovirus pneumonia, who were recruited from a training camp and admitted to our hospital, between October and November, 2016. Results Twelve patients had single lesion and the rest 2 had two lesions, respectively. Distribution: lesions were more frequently observed in the middle and lower lobes. There were 3 lesions in the upper lobe, 4 lesions in the middle lobe, and 5 lesions in the lower lobe of the right lung. Meanwhile, there were 3 lesions in the lower lobe and 1 lesion in the upper lobe of the left lung. Morphology: the lesions were round-like in 11 and wedge-shaped in 5 patients. CT attenuation: it was patchy opacity in 11 patients (68.8%), round-like and air-space consolidation with ill-defined ground-glass opacity in 3 patients (18.7%), and small patches of ground-glass opacity in 2 patients. The absorption time of consolidation is significantly longer than the patchy opacity and ground-glass opacity. Conclusion Thoracic CT scanning play an important role in the diagnosis of adult adenovirus pneumonia. The lesions were commonly located in the middle and lower lobes of bilateral lungs. Patchy opacity was more frequently observed in the early stage. The most characteristic manifestation of CT scanning is round and air-space consolidation with ground-glass opacity.