Objective To establish a diabetic rat model of hindlimb ischemia, and provide a test method for diabetic limb ischemia and diabetic foot study. Methods Twenty-five Wistar rats were divided into three groups:the model group and control group (n=10), and sham operated group (n=5). The rats of model group were induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg/kg), with the blood glucose level over 16.8 mmol/L, while the rats of control group were injected with normal saline. All the rats had the left femoral artery and its branches ligated, and then Doppler scan blood flow analysis was performed for the two hind limbs after operation at different time points. In the meantime, the changes of body weight and blood glucose were observed. The animals were sacrificed at 21days after operation. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of gastrocnemius and femoral arteries. Capillary density and intima hyperplasia were examined using immunostaining for CD31 and a-SMA. Results Blood glucose of the model group rats was significantly increased as well as the quantity of urine and feces,and associated with weight loss, which were maintained for more than 21 days. The blood flow of control rats was markedly decreased immediatly after operation, reached to the lowest point after surgery, and recovered from 7-14 days after operation. In contrast to the control group, the model group showed a marked reduction in blood flow in the ischemic hind limb. Pathological examination revealed remarkable vascular atrophy and a significantly reduced number of vessels per high power field in the gastrocnemius muscle of model group rats with respect to the control group, and the femoral arteries of model rats were more narrowed than that of the control rats. Conclusions In this study, an effective, convenient diabetic rat model of hindlimb ischemia is successfully established which will facilitate the studies of drug intervention for diabetic limb ischemia and diabetic foot in the future.