Diabetic nephropathy, one of the major causes of death of diabetes patients, is diagnosed as the thickening of glomerular basement membrane and progressive expansion of the glomerular mesangium and tubulointerstitium. Intensive studies have shown that hyperglycemia is the key factor for renal sclerosis which can lead to end-stage renal disease for diabetic patients.1,2 Our previous studies demonstrated that Xiaoke granule can inhibit the progression of diabetic nephropathy. However, its mechanisms remain unknown.3,4 In this study, we found that Xiaoke granule coincidently depresses transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1)expression and inhibits the effect of high glucose on mesangial cell proliferation. This might suggest that the effect of Xiaoke granule on inhibiting progression of diabetic nephropathy through down-regulating TGF-β1 expression.