Objective  To investigate the correlation between the advanced glycation end products of receptor （RAGE） -429T>C gene polymorphism and diabetic retinopathy （DR） in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods  The -429T>C polymorphism of the RAGE gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing in 120 normal control subjects and 185 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus， including 92 patients with diabetic retinopathy （DR） and 93 patients with non-diabetic retinopathy （NDR）. The frequencies of the RAGE genotype， allele and biochemical criterion among those groups were compared by using a χ² test and an independent samples t test. Results  The disease course in the DR group was significantly longer than that in the NDR group （t=2.25， P<0.05）.  Other biochemical criteria in both groups were not significantly different （P>0.05）. In DR， NDR and normal control groups， the CC genotype frequencies were 3.3%， 1.1% and 1.7%， respectively. The frequencies of C allele were 17.5%， 13.4% and 15.4%， respectively. The CC genotype frequencies in the DR group were higher than in the NDR and normal control groups. The differences were statistically significant （χ²=7.938， 6.119， P<0.05）. The frequency of C allele in the DR group was higher than in the NDR and normal control groups. The differences were statistically significant （χ²=7.317， 5.456， P<0.05）. The differences in the CC genotype and C allele frequencies between the NDR group and the normal control group were not statistically significant （χ²=0.295， 0.329， P>0.05）. Single factor logistic regression analysis showed that C allele was associated with DR （OR=2.085，95%CI： 1.216-3.574）. Conclusion  RAGE -429T>C gene polymorphism may be associated with the development of DR and the C allele may be the risk factor for people in the Wuxi area.