Abstract: Objective To identify the relationship between visfatin and type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Methods Fifty-six patients with T2DM and fifty-eight healthy controls were enrolled.Visfatin level was measured through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Blood pressure,lipids,free glucose,free insulin,retinol binding protein 4(RBP-4) were measured and the waist-to-hip(WHR) ratio,body mass index(BMI),and HOMA-IR were calculated.All of the statistical analyses were performed using the stata9.0. Results Visfatin level was higher in T2DM group than in controls (P<0.01).Visfatin level had significant correlation with WHR and BMI in T2DM group(all P<0.05).Visfatin level did not correlate with blood pressure,levels of lipid,insulin and glucose.There was no significant difference in the RBP-4 level between the two groups(P>0.05). Conclusions Serum visfatin level increases in T2DM,which may play a role in the pathogenesis of T2DM.