Objective To explore the relationship between new obesity indicators and the risk of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods A total of 105 elderly patients with T2DM and DKD admitted from November 2021 to November 2025 were selected as the study group, and 255 elderly patients with simple T2DM were included in the control group. The new obesity indicators and renal function indicators were measured in the two groups, and the relationship between the above indicators and the risk of DKD was analyzed. Results Compared with the control group, patients in the study group exhibited higher body roundness index (BRI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), visceral adiposity index (VAI), triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), and TyG-body mass index (TyG-BMI), lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and higher serum creatinine (Scr) and blood uric acid (UA) (all P<0.05). Pearson analysis revealed that BRI, LAP, VAI, TyG index, and TyG-BMI were negatively correlated with eGFR (all P<0.05) and positively correlated with Scr and UA (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that disease duration, BRI, TyG index, TyG-BMI, and UA were all related factors for the occurrence of DKD in T2DM (all P<0.05). Conclusion New obesity indicators (BRI, LAP, VAI, TyG index, and TyG-BMI) are closely related to renal function in elderly T2DM patients. BRI, TyG index, and TyG-BMI are associated factors for the development of DKD in T2DM patients and may indicate the risk of DKD.