Diabetic nephropathy(DN) is one of the main causes of end stage renal diseases. Mice provide a common experimental model of unparalleled flexibility for studying human diseases. Even though some diabetic mouse models exist, not a single one develops renal changes sufficiently reflecting those seen in humans. Progress in identification of effective therapies and pathogenesis for diabetic nephropathy continues to be limited by the lack of ideal animal models. New diabetic mouse models were developed by uses of technique for gene engineering and cross, some of which could recapitulate some typical renal pathological changes of human advanced DN. Here we reviewed the character of common DN mouse models, analyzed disease manifestations, nephrotic features and application of new developed DN mouse models. This would be beneficial for understanding of the disease process and guiding for choosing the most suitable mouse model for the investigation of diabetic nephropathy.