Objective To explore the effect of simulated food model on diet education in patients with maintenance hemodialysis. Methods A total of 90 patients who had hemodialysis in the Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai from March to June 2016 were selected into this study according to convenience sampling. The participants were divided into control group(n=45)and intervention group(n=45)based on the dialysis time. The simulated food model was applied to the diet education in the intervention group while the control group received routine diet education. The knowledge of diet,changes in serum creatinine,hemoglobin and serum albumin,and satisfaction of diet education were compared before and after the intervention. Results After the education, the intervention group had significantly higher scores of diet knowledge and satisfaction level compared with the control group(P < 0.05). There were significant differences in serum creatinine between the two groups(P<0.05). However,no statistical differences were found in hemoglobin or serum albumin between the two groups(P> 0.05). Conclusions The simulated food model can effectively improve the knowledge of diet and the satisfaction of diet education in patients with maintenance hemodialysis. It can also reduce the serum creatinine and has a positive effect on diet education.