Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease in China，but so far there is no effective drug for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy(DN).Nearly 40 years of clinical use of Radix Tripterygii Wilfordii in the treatment of DN has achieved gratifying results.When treating DN proteinuria with tripterygium wilfordii glycosides(TWG)，its degree of reducing proteinuria is more effective than that of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI).TWG can also be combined with ACEI for the treatment of DN.In a certain dose range，the therapeutic effect of TWG is enhanced with the increase of dosage.However，due to the toxicity of TWG，the dosage and course of treatment should be paid attention to.