Objective： To explore the relationship between microsatellite DNA polymorphism of human 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases type 1 and type 2 diabetes within a Chinese population. Methods：150 patients with type 2 diabetes and 121 nondiabetic subjects were collected randomly among Han Chinese in Nanjing. Polymorphism of microsatellite marker within intron 4 of 11β-HSD1 was detected by polymerase chain reaction， polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining to investigate the frequency distributions of 11beta-HSD1 microsatellite（CA）n in two groups. Results： In two groups， CA-repeat numbers in eight types of alleles were 13，14，15，16，17，18，19 and 20， respectively. The prevalence of 11beta-HSD gene allele frequencies in patients with type 2 diabetes was not significantly different from that in control subjects（χ2 = 8.9944， P = 0.253）. However， the prevalence of （CA）15 allele gene frequencies in patients with type 2 diabetes was significantly different from that in control subjects（χ2 = 4.990，P = 0.025）. Conclusion： Polymorphism of microsatellite markers in 11beta-HSD1 may be associated with type 2 diabetes in Han Chinese.