The behavior of commercially pure titanium (TA2) under tension and compression were investigated at different strain rates. Significant tension-compression asymmetry in yielding and strain hardening was observed. With the increment of deformation strain rate, the asymmetry of TA2 increased. The microscopic deformation mechanisms and microstructure evolutions of commercially pure titanium under tension and compression were analyzed using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) techniques. The results showed that the compressive deformation of commercially pure titanium was dominated by deformation twinning while the tensile deformation was dominated by the dislocations sliding. The macroscopic tension-compression asymmetry of commercially pure titanium was determined by load sensitivity of microscopic deformation behaviors.