Objective To investigate the application value of serum cystatin C(Cys-C)combined with β2-microglobulin(β2-MG)in the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.Methods A total of 100 diabetic patients admitted to our hospital from April 2021 to April 2023 were selected as subjects,and divided into diabetes group and diabetic nephropathy group according to whether they have renal diseases or not,with 50 cases in each group.Then,50 healthy people who came to our hospital for physical examination in the same period were selected for comparative study,and their Cys-C and β2-MG levels were detected and compared,and their Cys-C positive rate,β2-MG positive rate and combined detection positive rate were compared.Results The levels of Cys-C and β2-MG in patients with diabetic nephropathy were higher than those in patients with diabetes and healthy controls(P<0.05).The levels of Cys-C and β2-MG in diabetic patients were higher than those in healthy controls(P<0.05).The positive rates of Cys-C(64.00%),β2-MG(72.00%)and Cys-C+β2-MG(96.00%)in patients with diabetic nephropathy were higher than those in patients with diabetes(6.00%,10.00%,12.00%)and healthy subjects(0.00%,0.00%,0.00%)(P<0.05).The positive rate of combined detection of Cys-C and β2-MG in diabetic patients(12.00%)was higher than that in healthy subjects(0.00%)(P<0.05).The positive rate of Cys-C combined with β2-MG in diabetic nephropathy was 96.00%,which was higher than that of Cys-C 64.00%and β2-MG 72.00%(P<0.05).The levels of Cys-C and β2-MG in patients with stageⅣdiabetic nephropathy were higher than those in patients with stage ⅢandⅠ-Ⅱdiabetic nephropathy(P<0.05).The levels of Cys-C and β2-MG in stageⅢpatients were higher than those in stageⅠ-Ⅱpatients(P<0.05).Conclusions The levels of Cys-C and β2-MG are significantly increased in patients with diabetic nephropathy,and the combination of Cys-C and β2-MG has more advantages.The greater serious renal damage,the greater abnormal degree of Cys-C and β2-MG,which has a higher value as a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.