This paper discussed the clinical ideas and methods of treating diabetes by improving symptoms. Diabetes-related symptoms can affect the control of blood glucose and other metabolic indicators to varying degrees， and affect the quality of life of patients. In the clinical diagnosis and treatment of diabetes， “equal emphasis on both indicators” is suggested， meaning that quality of life indicators is as important as metabolic indicators. The patient's symptoms should be paied attention to， and the diagnosis and treatment should start from “symptom differentiation”， and emphasize the “key symptoms”. When there are many symptoms， it is advised to adopt the combined treatment mode of “syndrome cluster”， and take the principle of “treating both the root and accompanying symptoms in mild cases with multiple symptoms， and prescribing multiple formulas daily”. At the same time， the model of co-management of three disciplines of diabetes consisting of diabetes specialists， traditional Chinese medicine doctors， and health managers can help the management of diabetes symptoms.