Objective To assess the clinical therapeutic effects and safety of Jiangtang Shuxin decoction (JTSXD) on diabetic patients complicated with chronic heart failure (CHF),and to search for its possible function mechanisms.Methods A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted,80 diabetic patients complicated with CHF [New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class Ⅱ-Ⅲ] admitted into the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or of Cardiology in Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Youjiang National Medical College from October 2015 to September 2016 were enrolled,they were assigned to an observation group and a control group by randomized method with a computer,and finally 77 patients (39 cases in observation group and 38 cases in control group) completed this trial.The patients in control group received standardized routine western medical treatment,while the observation group was additionally administered JTSXD (including ingredients:astragalus 15 g,ginseng 10 g,radix ophiopogonis 15 g,radix rehmanniae 15 g,comus 10 g,rhizome coptidis 8 g,peach kernel 10 g,salvia mitiorrhiza 10 g,magnoliaceae 10 g,yam 15 g) on the basis of conventional therapy.The therapeutic course for all the patients in both groups was 2 months.Before and after treatment,the 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) was assessed;the TCM syndrome accumulated scores of the two groups were calculated;the left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV),the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF),the stroke volume (SV),the cardiac output (CO),and the maximum blood flow velocity of early diastolic/atrium late diastolic (E/A) were detected by echocardiography.The serum levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c),angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ) and plasma B type brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were tested with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA);the level changes of total cholesterol (TC),triglyeride (TG),high density lipoprotein cholesteral (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesteral (LDL-C) were observed.Results Compared with the control group,after treatment in the observed group,the TCM syndrome score of palpitation,fatigue and thetotal accumulated score were all obviously decreased (palpitation score:0.9 ± 0.4 vs.1.2 ± 0.8,fatigue score:1.1 ± 0.7 vs.1.7 ± 0.8,total accumulated score:4.8 ± 1.2 vs.8.1 ± 1.8,all P ＜ 0.05);the LVEDV,the serum levels of HbA1c,Ang Ⅱ and BNP were also obviously decreased in the observed group [LVEDV (mL):136.28 ± 17.52 vs.158.82 ± 19.03,HbA1c (％):6.11±0.36 vs.6.89 ±0.32,Ang Ⅱ (ng/L):66.48 ± 17.64 vs.84.55 ± 20.39,BNP (μg/L):138.45 ± 87.55 vs.219.14±88.83,all P ＜ 0.05];The 6MWD,LVEF,SV,CO and E/A were all increased plainly in the observed group [6MWD (m):470.47 ± 79.66 vs.428.46 ± 88.56,LVEF:0.51 ±0.05 vs.0.46 ± 0.04,SV (mL):55.36 ± 2.88 vs.50.32±2.76,CO (L/min):5.74±0.91 vs.4.92±0.74,E/A:1.18±0.27 vs.0.83±0.28,all P ＜ 0.05].The degrees of decreased levels in TC,TG,LDL-C and the degrees of increased levels of HDL-C in observed group were superior to those of the control group,but there were no statistical significant differences (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion JTSXD shows good therapeutic effect and safety for treatment of diabetic patients accompanied by CHF (NYHA functional class Ⅱ-Ⅲ),and its mechanisms may be related to its regulation of glucose (reduction of HbA1c level),correction of lipid metabolism disorders,improvement of myocardial energy supply,inhibition of the activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and the secretion of BNP.