Objective To investigate the features of resting energy expenditure (REE) in patients with well controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Totally 45 T2DM patients with stable blood glucose were enrolled. The general conditions, biochemical indicators, measurements of REE ( MREE), and basal energy expenditure (BEE) calculated with Harris-Benedict formula (HBEE) and Owen formula (OBEE) were recorded and compared. Results MREE had no significant difference with HBEE or OBEE in T2DM patients with stable blood glucose (P ＞ 0. 05). Correlation analysis showed that REE was significantly correlated with gender, age, body weight, body height, body surface area, and fat-free mass ( all P ＜ 0.05 ), but was not correlated with body mass index, fat mass, fasting plasma glucose, postprandial plasma glucose, haemoglobin Alc, total cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, and haemoglobin (P ＞ 0. 05 ). Multiple regression analysis showed that fat free mass and age had the closest correlation with REE. Conclusions REE does not increase in T2DM patients with well controlled blood glucose. Factors that influence their REE are similar with healthy individuals. Determi nation of REE can provide useful information for the nutrition treatment of T2DM.