The leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinsk (CP) have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of diabetic mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extracts from CP leaves (ACP) on sciatic nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and several serum indicators in rats with type 2 diabetes. Male Wistar rats were used for inducing the DM model, the variation of body weight, blood glucose and general status showed the success of modeling. After treating by ACP, the sciatic NCV and contents of serum NGF-β , TNF-α and NO were ameliorated significantly (P < 0.05) compared with DM model. This research demonstrates that ACP offers potential for intervening diabetic peripheral neuropathy.