Abstract: Objective: To study the prevalence of carotid artery stenosis＞50% in a diabetic population and to determine the predictive factors for an optical screening strategy. Methods: A total of 1 005 type 2 diabetic patients underwent physical examination and ultrasound scanning for carotid arteries. Risk factors for atherosclerosis were also recorded.Logistic regression analysis showed that the predictive factors for carotid stenosis（CS）could increase the efficiency of screening. Results: The prevalence of CS＞50% was 3.5%.The independent risk factors for CS＞50% were male gender（OR: 4.0;CI: 1.3-12.1）and fibrinogen≥4g/L（OR : 4.5;CI: 1.7-12.1）.If the two risk factors were excluded,the negative predictive value for CS＞50% was 98.6%. Conclusion: Our data suggest a low prevalence of CS＞50% in diabetic patients.The probability of finding CS＞50% is the highest among male and fibrinogen≥4g/L patients.Screening for carotid and peripheral artery stenosis in diabetic patients without these risk factors seems inappropriate due to a very low probability of CS＞50%.