Objective To explore the correlation between sleep quality and the risk of diabetic stroke, and to provide a predictive value for the occurrence of diabetic stroke.Methods From April 2011 to November 2011, participants in the "epidemiological survey of cancer risk in patients with type 2 diabetes in Luzhou, Sichuan Province" were enrolled.358 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were selected and divided into good sleep quality group (n=271), poor sleep quality group (n=64) and hypnotic aid group (n=23), according to sleep quality. The incidence of stroke was compared among the three groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the related factors of diabetic stroke.Results After 5-year follow-up, there was a significant difference in the incidence of stroke among the three groups (P＜0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of stroke in diabetic patients with sleep aid was 4.202 times higher than that in patients with good sleep quality. There was no significant difference in the risk of stroke between patients with poor sleep quality and those with good sleep quality (P＞0.05).Conclusion The use of hypnotics is a risk factor of ischemic stroke in diabetes mellitus. We should pay close attention to the sleep quality of diabetic patients, and provide effective intervention and guidance, so as to effectively control the occurrence of diabetic ischemic stroke.