Abstract: Diabetes is a common chronic metabolic disease. With the aging population and lifestyle changes in China, diabetes has changed from a rare disease into an epidemic disease, with the prevalence rate soaring from 0.67% in 1980 to 10.9% in 2017. At present, diabetes mellitus is characterized by high prevalence, irreversible condition and diverse late complications. In addition to lifestyle intervention including diet and exercise program, drug therapy is still one of the important methods of treating diabetes. Although many hypoglycemic drugs with different mechanisms are currently available, 63% of patients with type 2 diabetes still can't be effectively treated, consequently, the development of innovative antidiabetic drugs is still a priority. This article reviewed the numbers, development stages, therapeutic targets and mechanisms, as well as research institutions and sales of antidiabetic drugs from a global perspective, forecasting the new trend in the development of antidiabetic drugs.