Diabetic nephropathy is one of the main causes of end-stage renal disease. At present，the most effective treatment for this disease is conservative treatment with by using renin-angiotensin system inhibitors to strictly regulate blood glucose and blood pres－sure. However，this can only control the further deterioration of diabetic nephropathy，and some diseases will develop into the end-stage renal disease. Therefore，to find new therapeutic targets for treating the diabetic nephropathy is in urgent needs. Studies have shown that autophagy is an important way to maintain cell homeostasis. The deregulated autophagy can lead to glomerular and tubulointerstitial lesions of kidneys in diabetic patients，which may be one of the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. This article reviewed researches of autophagy and diabetic nephropathy，in order to summarize the research advance of autophagy in the pathogen－esis of diabetic nephropathy and to investigate the significance of autophagy in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.