According to a report in the Global Times, the three plaintiffs - two HIV carriers and their friend - were denied boarding a Spring Airlines flight from Shenyang to Shijiazhuang on July 28.
They are accusing the airline of discriminatory service and are demanding an open apology and compensation of 48,999 yuan (?4,775).
A local court in Shenyang, northeastern China's Liaoning Province, has accepted the case, which HIV rights activists claim will be a landmark case for anti-discrimination.
The plaintiffs said they told airline staff they were HIV-positive as they were collecting their boarding passes but when they got in line to board the plane they were told their tickets had been cancelled.
One of the plaintiffs claimed he had read Spring Airlines regulations stating that HIV-positive passengers should not be transported.
The regulation was deleted from the Spring Airlines website on August 5, said the Global Times.
Spring Airlines president Wang Zhenghua told the AFP news agency that the company did not discriminate against HIV carriers and said the incident had occurred because airport staff felt nervous.
This is the first time a case has been brought against an airline for discriminating against an HIV-positive person in China.
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