The optimal timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with cryptococcal meningitis (HIV/CM) is controversial. We designed a clinical trial to inves-tigate the optimal timing for ART initiation in HIV/CM patients. This will be a multicenter, prospective, and randomized clinical trial. Each enrolled patient will be randomized into either the early ART arm or the deferred ART arm. We will compare the mortality and incident rates of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome between the two arms. We hope to elucidate the optimal timing for ART initiation in HIV/CM patients.