Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the primary cause of mortality among diabetic patients. With the increasing prevalence of diabetes

it has become a major concern around the world. The therapeutic effect of clinical use of drugs is far from expected

and therapy choices to slow the progression of DKD remain restricted. Therefore

research on new drugs and treatments for DKD has been a hot topic in the medical field. It has been found that rhein has the potential to target the pathogenesis of DKD and has a wide range of pharmacological effects on DKD

such as anti-nephritis

decreasing blood glucose

controlling blood lipids and renal protection. In recent years

the medical value of rhein in the treatment of diabetes

DKD and renal disease has gradually attracted worldwide attention

especially its potential in the treatment of DKD. Currently

DKD can only be treated with medications from a single symptom and are accompanied by adverse effects

while rhein improves DKD with a multi-pathway and multi-target approach. Therefore

this paper reviews the therapeutic effects of rhein on DKD

and proposes solutions to the limitations of rhein itself

in order to provide valuable references for the clinical application of rhein in DKD and the development of new drugs.