Abstract: OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy and safety of acarbose tablets combined with lipson mix25 insulin in treatment of the type 2 diabetes elder patients with inadequate glycaemic control by drugs. METHODS Eighty type 2 diabetes patients with inadequate glycaemic control by drugs were divided into treatment group and control group with 40 cases in each group randomly. In the treatment group, 40 patients were given acarbose tablets during meal and injection of lispro mix25 before breakfast and supper respectively, while 40 patients in the control group were given injection of humulin 70/30 30 minutes before breakfast and supper for 12 weeks. The dose of insulin were adjusted every 3 days according to the level of glucose, reaching the aim of fasting glucose (FPG) less than 8.0 mmol·L^-1 and postprandial (2 hours after meal) glucose (2hPG) less than 10 mmol·L^-1. The FPG, 2hPG, HbA1c, dose of insulin and the incidence of hypoglycemia were observed. RESULTS Compared with before, the daily glucose profile and the level of HbA1c of the 2 groups dropped obviously after 12 weeks treatments (P<0.01). At the end of the experiment, the 2hPG was decreased markedly in treatment group compared with control group (P<0.05), and the dose of insulin was markedly lower in treatment group (28.3±6.4)U·d^-1than in control group (35.7±5.8 U·d^-1) (P<0.01). Only one case of hypoglycemia in treatment group (2.5%) was also lower than 8 cases in control group (20%) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION It’s an effective and safe way to use lispro mix25 insulin combined with acarbose tablets in treatment of the type 2 diabetes elder patients with inadequate glycaemic control by drugs.