Diabetic kidney disease, as a common complication of diabetes, is one of the main causes of end-stage renal disease. Because of the rapid progress of its course and the limited means of treatment, it is of great clinical significance to seek biomarkers from early diagnosis for the treatment of diabetic kidney disease. At present, there are limited methods for early diagnosis of diabetic kidney disease. As a widely used research method, metabonomics can detect metabolites in diseases and provide biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. This article summarizes the changes of amino acids, lipids, organic acids and other metabolites in blood or urine of patients with diabetic kidney disease.