OBJECTIVE：To explore the effects of calcitriol combined with pioglitazone hydrochloride on the cholesterol， kidney functions and inflammatory cytokines of patients with early-stage diabetic nephropathy （DN）. METHODS： 120 patients with early-stage DN were randomly divided into control group， group V， group P and group V+P. Control group was given diabetic diet， moderate exercise， Recombinant insulin glargine injection to control blood glucose and other conventional treatment； group V was additionally given 0.25 μg Calcitriol soft capsule， orally， qd； group P was additionally given 30 mg Pioglitazone hydrochloride granule， orally， qd； group V+P was additionally given Calcitriol soft capsule （the same dosage with group V）+Pioglitazone hydrochloride granule（the same dosage with group P）. The treatment course for all groups was 3 months. serum lipids indexes [triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high density lipoprotein （HDL）， low density lipoprotein （LDL）]， renal function indexes [serum creatinine （Scr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， UAER]， inflammatory cytokines [C-reactive protein （CRP）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF） -α， interleukin （IL） -6] before and after treatment， and the incidence of adverse reactions in all groups were observed. RESULTS： After treatment， there were no significant differences in the serum lipids indexes， renal function indexes and inflammatory cytokines among all groups（P＞0.05）. After treatment， TC and UAER in control group， TC， LDL， IL-6， Scr， BUN and UAER in group V， TG， TC， LDL， Scr， BUN， UAER， CRP， TNF-α and IL-6 in group P and group V+P were significantly lower than before， TG， TC， LDL， Scr， BUN， UAER， CRP， TNF-α and IL-6 in group V+P， TG， Scr and CRP in group P were significantly lower than control group， TG in group V+P was significantly lower than group P， the differences were statistically significant（P＜0.05）， and there were no significant differences in the HDL among all groups（P＞0.05）. There were no obvious adverse reactions during treatment. CONCLUSIONS： Based on the conventional treatment， calcitriol combined with pioglitazone hydrochloride can significantly reduce the cholesterol， improve renal function and inflammatory states of patients with early-stage DN， with good safety.