Abstract: Recent studies have demonstrated that vitamin A and its derivatives (including retinol, retinal and retinoic acid) play a key role in the development of diabetes mellitus. Retinoic acid, which is an essential active metabolite of vitamin A, can regulate the expression of a lot of genes via activating retinoic acid receptor and retinoid X receptor to participate in various physiological processes such as reproduction, immunization and metabolism. The concentration of retinoic acid is disordered in diabetic states in vivo. Inversely, retinoic acid imbalance can influence glycolipid metabolism and then affect the progression of diabetes. This article reviews the role of retinoic acid in glycolipid metabolism and insulin resistance, and discusses the relationship between retinoic acid and diabetes.