Abstract: Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus，the main character of diabetic nephropathy is microvascular lesion，and it’s the leading cause of kidney failure. At present, the treatment of diabetic nephropathy is not very ideal, and it has always been the focus of research. Although the drug is effective in the control of blood glucose level, but not in the control and prevention of diabetic nephropathy and other chronic complications obviously, therapy based on stem cells gradually become the new therapy of diabetic nephropathy and have achieved some effects. This article reviews the application of stem cells in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.