Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma soluble CD36 (sCD36) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Plasma levels of sCD36 were determined in normal control group (group A, n=39), patients of T2DM without NAFLD group (group B, n=39) and T2DM with NAFLD group (group C, n=59). Liver fat content (LFC) and nonalcoholic fatty liver fibrosis score (NFS) were calculated in group C. Glucose and lipid metabolic parameters, liver function parameters and inflammatory parameters were also detect?ed in all three groups. Variance analysis was applied to analyze the differences of the above parameters among three groups;Correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between sCD36 level and all the above parameters;Multiple step? wise regression analysis was applied to determine the influencing factors of sCD36 level in patients of group C. Results Plasma sCD36 (μg/L) levels in group B (3.87 ± 1.16) and group C (5.72 ± 1.79) are higher than that of group A (2.57 ± 0.93) (both P<0.01), and it is higher in group C than in group B (each P<0.05);Correlation analysis showed that sCD36 level was positively correlated with body mass index (BMI), waist, visceral adipose tissue,fast insulin (FINS), insulin resistance in?dex (HOMA-IR), free fatty acid (FFA), alanine transaminase (ALT), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), LFC and NFS (P<0.01 or P<0.05);Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that FFA, LFC, TNF-αand IL-6 were in?fluencing factors of sCD36 level in patients of group C. Conclusion Plasma sCD36 level was related to fatty liver severity, liver injury and fatty liver fibrosis, it might be used as a plasma marker of T2DM combined with NAFLD. CD36 might con?tribute to the development of T2DM combined with NAFLD through inflammatory mechanisms.