Abstract Purpose To explore the role of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury of diabetic rats. Methods Sixty adult male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, including sham group (S group), ischemia-reperfusion group (I/R group), ischemia-reperfusion+ATRA group (A group), diabetic group (D group), diabetic ischemia-reperfusion group (DI/R group), diabetic ischemia-reperfusion +ATRA group (DA group). The levels of creatinine (Cr), cystatin C (Cys-C) and β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) were measured. Morphology of renal tissue was observed under light microscope. Results DJ-1, Nrf2, HO-1 and caspase-3 were detected by western blot. DJ-1, Nrf2, HO-1 and caspase-3 in I/R group, D group and DI/R group was higher than that in S group. Compared with I/R group, Nrf2 and HO-1 in A group was decreased, but caspase-3 was increased. However, Nrf2 in DA group was higher than that in DI/R group, HO-1 and caspase-3 in DA group were lower than that in DI/R group. Compared with group S, Cr, Cys-C and β2-MG in I/R group, A group, D group, and DI/R group were higher. Whereas the levels of Cr, Cys-C, β2-MG and renal injury score in DA group were lower than those in DI/R group. Conclusion ATRA has a protective effect on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats, maybe relating to DJ/Nrf2 pathway.