The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the passive lumbar extension (PLE) test and prone instability test (PIT). Thirty-three subjects (14 males, 19 females) with lower back pain enrolled in the study and the subjects were divided into 2 groups (positive and negative instability groups) on the basis of radiographies of flexion and extension. Reliability was determined by the kappa coefficient and validity was examined using calculated sensitivity, specificity, and the likelihood ratio. The results showed that the reliability of the PLE test was higher than the PIT (intra-rater reliability: k=.86 and k=.81, interrater reliability: k=.65 and k=.62) and the validity of the PLE test was also higher than the PIT (sensitivity: 91% and 62%, specificity: 95% and 85% positive likelihood ratio: 20.00 and 4.10, negative likelihood ratio: .10 and .45). In conclusion, we think that the PLE test was a more reliable and valid method for lumbar instability than the PIT.