Objective To explore the effects of empowerment education model on glycemic control and self-management behavior of community patients with diabetes. Method A total of 120 diabetics from 2 different communities were set as the observation group and control group. The control group was treated by routine medications and health education and the observation group was intervened with empowerment education model. After intervention for 6 months, the patients′blood glucose index and the diabetes self-management behavior were assessed and compared by scale of the diabetes self-care activities (SDSCA) between the two groups. Result By the end of the study, the glycemic index and SDSCA score in the former group were both significantly decreased than those in the control group (P<0.05), indicating the patients in the experiment group had better glycemic control and self-management behaviors compared with those in the control group. Conclusions Empowerment education model can arouse the internal motivation of patients to change their behaviors from passive to active acceptance in the health education. Empowerment education model can enhance diabetes patients′self-management conduct and the glycemic level.