Objective To analyze the mediating effect of disease coping style between disease perception and self-management behavior in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 285 T2DM patients admitted to Kaifeng Chinese Hospital from April 2021 to March 2023 were selected for the study，and the Medical Coping Style Scale，Simple Disease Perception Questionnaire and Diabetes Self-Management Behavior Scale were used to assess the correlation between disease coping style，disease perception and self-management behavior of T2DM patients，and a mediating effect model was established. Results T2DM patients scored （44.37 ± 6.63） in self-management behavior，（43.34 ± 5.58） in disease cognition，and （42.36 ± 6.57） in coping style respectively. There was a positive correlation between self-management behavior and disease cognition，as well as coping styles （P < 0.05）. The mediating role of disease coping styles between disease cognition and self-management behavior was established，and the mediating effect value was 25.27%. Conclusion The mediating role of disease coping style between disease cognition and self-management behavior was established，confirming that disease cognition could indirectly affect T2DM patients’ self-management behaviors by regulating disease coping styles.