We extract the isovector tensor nucleon form factors, which play an important role in understanding the transverse spin structure of the nucleon when related to the quark helicity-flip generalized parton distributions via their first moments. We employ the light-cone QCD sum rules to leading order in QCD and include distribution amplitudes up to twist 6 in order to calculate the three tensor form factors $H_T$, $E_T$ and $tilde{H}_T$. Our results agree well with those from other approaches in the low and high momentum-transfer regions.