Objective To determine the trend in the causes of admission among diabetic patients in West China Hospital from 1996 to 2005. Methods The medical records of diabetic inpatients from January 1996 to December 2005 were retrieved, and half of them were randomly selected. A questionnaire was completed and SPSS13.0 software was used for statistical analyses. Results The most common causes of admission for diabetic patients were diabetic chronic complications (20.2%), infection (19.5%), hyperglycemic symptoms (11.7%), malignant tumor (8.9%) and diabetic acute complications (5.8%). The constituent ratios of diabetic macrovascular disease and malignant tumor as the admission causes tended to increase, while the constituent ratios of diabetic microvascular disease, hyperglycemic symptoms and diabetic acute complications tended to decrease. Infection remained as one of the main causes of admission among diabetic patients. Conclusion The main cause of admission to West China Hospital for diabetic patients from 1996 to 2005 was diabetic chronic complications.