Abstract: Objective To systematically evaluate the correlation between serum lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and diabetic nephropathy (DN). 
 Methods PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, VIP, Wanfang database and CHKD database were searched online. The related literatures published since the inception of each database were searched. The data were retrieved and analyzed by Stata 12.0. 
 Results Nine literatures were included, including 2 876 participants that met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis results showed that serum Lp-PLA2 levels in DN patients were significantly higher than those in the control group ［the combined standardized mean difference (SMD)=2.91, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.85-3.98, P＜0.05］. Grouping analysis based on urine protein excretion rate showed that in the microalbuminuria group, the level of serum Lp-PLA2 in patients with early DN was significantly higher than that in the control group （SMD=1.57, 95%CI: 0.39-2.75, P＜0.05）. In the macroalbuminuria group, compared with the microalbuminuria group, as the urine protein excretion rate increased, the serum level of Lp-PLA2 continued to increase (SMD=0.67, 95%CI: 0.30-1.05, P＜0.05). The Meta-analysis of blood lipid levels showed that compared with the control group, the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein of patients in the DN group increased, while the serum levels of high-density lipoprotein decreased. 
 Conclusion The increase of serum Lp-PLA2 is an important risk factor for DN. During the occurrence and development of DN, serum Lp-PLA2 levels gradually increase, which can be regarded as a detection index for early screening and follow-up of DN.

Key words: diabetic nephropathies, lipoprotein-related phospholipase A2, Meta-analysis