Objective To investigate the correlation between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and glucose fluctuation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods Sixty-eight T2DM patients admitted to Beijing Military General Hospital from March to August 2012 were enrolled in the study,including 32 cases with CIMT thickening (CIMT ≥ 0.9 mm) and 32 cases with normal CIMT (CIMT ＜0.9 mm).The 72 h continuous blood glucose levels were monitored from the day of admission.Results There were no significant differences in the gender,age,body mass index (BMI),systolic and diastolic blood pressure,HDL-C,LDL-C,CHO,TG,glycosylate hemoglobin (HbA1c),fasting blood glucose(FBG) and postprandial average blood glucose (MPBG) between two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The atherosclerosis (AS) score and mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE),glucose standard deviation,frequency of glycemic excursion (FGE) and absolute mean of daily differences (MODD) in patients with thickening CIMT were (11 ± 7) years,(6.9 ± 3.0) mmol/L,(2.8 ± 1.2) mmol/L,(3.4 ± 1.5) times/d,(2.8 ± 1.3) mmol/L,(4.5 ± 1.0) score,respectively ; while those in patients with normal CIMT were (8 ±6) years,(4.2 ± 1.1) mmol/L,(1.6 ± 0.5) mmol/L,(2.2 ± 0.8) times/d,(2.0 ± 1.0) mmol/L,(3.3 ±0.6) score,respectively.There were significant differences between two groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Pearson correlation showed that CIMT was positively correlated with MAGE,FGE,MODD,course of disease,diastolic blood pressure,LDL-C,MPBG and AS score (P ＜ 0.05).Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that MAGE,MBPG were the influencing factors of CIMT.Conclusions The CIMT of patients with T2DM is closely correlated with glucose fluctuation,indicating that reduction of blood glucose fluctuation and MAGE,MPBG levels may delay the occurrence of diabetic macroangiopathy.