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Aim To investigate the correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods Two hundred T2DM patients were divided into four groups at the cut-off points of 5, 7, and 9 mg/dL of SUA levels. Nerve conduction studies (NCS), Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing (SWMT), and vibration perception threshold (VPT) tests were performed on these patients. Results Significant differences in motor/sensory nerve amplitude and conduction velocity (CV) parameters among different SUA level groups were observed (all P < 0.05). SUA levels were negatively correlated with the means of motor/sensory nerve amplitude and CV (all P < 0.05). Duration of T2DM > 10 years, SUA > 9 mg/dL and total cholesterol (TC) > 5.2 mmol/L were found to be significantly associated with DPN (all P < 0.05). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that the cut-off points of T2DM duration combined with SUA and TC were 9 years, 7.8 mg/dL, and 4.97 mmol/L, respectively (AUC = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.53–0.77; sensitivity, 70.6%; specificity, 65.2%, P = 0.009). Conclusion There is a significant association between elevated SUA levels and DPN, and T2DM duration, SUA, and TC may be valuable indicators to predict the occurrence of DPN in T2DM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]