To investigate the changes of the arteries in extremities in patients with type 2 diabetes(DM2), fifty patients with DM2(35 women and 15 men, mean aged 57.54 +/- 14.19 years old, time of DM2 diagnosed one week-26 years, without the histories of hypertension and smoking) were studied. Radial, finger, anterior tibial and dorsum pedis arteries of all subjects were examined using color Doppler Ultrasonography, 30 of 50 patients had the symptoms of extremities (e.g., numbness, coldness and pain). The Doppler examination revealed: 1. In the patient group, arterial wall became thick, rough and rigid. The atherosclerotic plaques were found inside vascular cavities in 14/50 in patient group with one patient being asymptomatic of extremities. 2. The vascular cavities in patients remarkably narrowed compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The vascular lesion worsened along with the development of the symptoms. 3. Doppler spectra in the majority of patients displayed single-peak, whereas it displayed three peaks in normal subjects with significant differences (P < 0.05). 4. The peak flow velocities in the patients increased, and this increase was related to the development of the symptoms, but no significant differences were found. Color Doppler Ultrasound examination is valuable in the evaluation of the arterial lesion of the extremities, especially at the early stage of artery diseases in patients with DM2.