Objective To investigate the effects of puerarin on renal advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs), expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and pathomorphism in diabetic rats. Methods Rats were randomly divided into following groups:normal control rats (Group CN), diabetic rats (Group DM) and diabetic rats treated with puerarin (Group DP). After Puerarin was given to STZ-induced diabetic rats for 10 weeks, blood glucose, urine protein, glomerular basement membrance thickness (GBMT) and profile of kidney hypertrophy in diabetic rats were measured and analysed. The renal pathologic changes were observed by light microscopy and electron microscopy. Renal AGEs content was determined by expose time of fluorescence microscopy. The expression of TGF-β1 was examined by immunohistochemical methods. Results Urine protein, GBMT and profile of kidney hypertrophy were significantly increased in diabetic rats as compared with control animals (P <0.01), but those targets in Group DP were decreased (P <0.01). The fluorescence expose time of renal AGEs in group DP was longer than that in group DM (P <0.05). The expression of TGF-β1 in group DP was dramatically lower than that in group DM (P <0.01), meanwhile, renal pathologic changes were also improved in group DP. Conclusion Renal AGEs contents and expression of TGF-β1 are so significantly increased in diabetic rats. Administration of puerarin to diabetic rats can amelioratediabetic nephropathy. Such beneficial effect can be related to reduction of AGEs centents and inhibition of the expression of TGF-β1 in the kidney by puerarin.