This paper considers the eigenvalue distribution of a linear time-invariant (LTI) system with time delays and its application to some controllers design for a delay plant via eigenvalue assignment. First, a new result on the root distribution for a class of quasi-polynomials is developed based on the extension of the Hermite-Biehler theorem. Then, such result is applied to proportional-integral (PI) controller parameter design for a first-order plant with time delay through pole placement. The complete region of PI gains can be obtained so that the rightmost eigenvalues in the infinite eigenspectrum of the closed-loop system with delay plant are assigned to desired positions in the complex plane. Furthermore, on the basis of the previous result, this paper also extended the PI control to the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control. It is worth pointing out that this work aims to improve the performance of the closed-loop system on the premise of guaranteeing the stability.