Abstract: Objective To investigate insulin resistance (IR) in elderly patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and the correlation of IR with plasma albumin, leptin, cholesterol, triglycerides and creatinine (Scr), body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat. Methods We recruited 23 elderly patients with CRF and 28 healthy elderly people for this study. Plasma glucose, insulin, leptin, BUN, Scr, cholesterol and triglycerides were measured. The reciprocal value of fasting plasma glucose multiplied by insulin product was used as the insulin sensitivity index (ISI). Results ISI was significantly lower in elderly patients with CRF than in the elderly control subjects(-4.24+0.78 vs -3.81+0.47, taken from the values of natural logarithm, P<0.05). The mean plasma leptin was significantly higher in elderly CRF patients than in the elderly control subjects (P<0.01). There was a strong negative correlation of ISI with Scr, plasma leptin, BMI and percentage of body fat. Conclusions IR presents in elderly patients with CRF. IR may be related to the decreased renal function, leptin resistance, obesity and the decreased compensation ability of -cells to IR

Key words: Elderly, Chronic renal failure, Insulin sensitivity index Leptin