Abstract:Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of major cardiovascular complications of diabetes mellitus. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, myocardial fibrosis, apoptosis and autophagy are all involved in the occurrence and development of DCM. More and more evidences show that the levels of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and autophagy change through the occurrence and development of DCM, and the relationship between them may play an important role in the pathogenesis of DCM. At present, there is no effective prevention strategy or therapeutic target for DCM. It is of great significance to thoroughly illustrate the interaction between autophagy and apoptosis in the treatment of DCM. This paper reviews the importance of autophagy and apoptosis, and the interaction between them in the pathogenesis of DCM.