Possibility degree methods for ranking hesitant fuzzy linguistic sets(HFLTSs) are studied. Three kinds of possibility degree formulas are proposed based on presenting possibility degree axiom. The five mutual equivalent formulas of the first kind are based on the idea of the interval comparison method. Another five mutual equivalent formulas are proposed based on the first kind of formulas, and the third kind of possibility degree formulas with respect to HFLTSs is proposed by probability criterion of uniform distribution. Finally, an example is given to explain the rationality and feasibility of the new formulas. The results show that the third kind of formula can deal with ranking problems resulting from slight difference of HFLTS, and the first kind of formula is simple to calculate and suitable for large-scale computation.