Abstract:Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the common serious complications in diabetic patients. Its development and progression process is very complex, and the treatment options are limited. This paper reviews the roles of three different complement activation pathways and the promise of therapeutic strategies targeting the complement system in DKD. Overall, studies of complement system and targeted therapy offer new hope for patients with DKD, but there is still a need to explore the potential mechanisms and clinical applications.