Abstract: In order to improve the passing efficiency of tram at intersections, a tram real-time signal priority control method is proposed. According to the signal phase when tram arrives at the intersection, 4 working conditions are drawn. According to the signal phase order and effective green-light time, advanced and extended control strategy of tram phase is proposed. According to the non-tram phase constraints, the tram phase real-time green-light time model is established. At last, the data collected from the intersection of Jiangdong Middle Road and Olympic Street in Nanjing is applied to construct Vissim traffic simulation environment, and the effectiveness of the proposed method in implementation is verified. Result shows that the tram signal priority control method based on optimal operation efficiency can effectively improve tram passing efficiency at intersections.