Objective To explore the relationship between neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and early‐stage diabetic nephropathy in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes(T2DM ). Methods A total of 160 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM were enrolled in this study and divided into two groups:early‐stage diabetic nephropathy (EDN ) group and non‐DN group (T2DM group). The clinical and biochemical data were collected. Results NLR ,neutrophia cell count ,2 hPG ,HbA1 c ,age were significantly higher in EDN group than in T2DM group[NLR (2.27 ± 0.92)vs(1.81 ± 0.56) ,neutrophia cellcount(4.35±1.47)vs(3.78±1.08)109/L,2hPG(21.98±4.30)vs(20.37±4.40)mmol/L,HbA1c (11.06±2.02)% vs (10.22 ± 1.89)% ,age(49.22 ± 12.71) vs (44.41 ± 10.81)years] (P< 0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that NLR (OR= 6.529 ,95% CI:1.946 ~ 21.873 ,P= 0.002)and 2 hPG(OR = 1.213 ,95% CI:1.002 ~ 1.467 ,P= 0.047 ) were independent risk factors for EDN.Conclusion Increased NLR is significantly associated with EDN. High NLR level may be a reliable predictive marker for EDN.