Objective: To investigate the correlation between glucose variability and fibrinogen (FIB) in type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods: A total of 515 hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) were enrolled in this study in the endocrinology of our hospital from March 2015 to November 2016. All the subjects were divided into a T2DM group and a T2DM with DR group. According to the degree of retinopathy progression, DR patients divided into a non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) group and a proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) group. According to the FIB quartiles, the subjects were divided into 4 groups (Q1_Fg–Q4_Fg). G1ucose variability and correlated indices were compared, and the regression analysis was done. Results: The age, duration of diabetes, systolic blood pressure (SBP), FIB, largest amplitude of glycemic excursions (LAGE) and standard deviation of blood glucose (SDBG) in T2DM patients with DR were significantly different from those in T2DM without retinopathy (P<0.05). Total cholesterol (TC), FIB, LAGE and SDBG in PDR group were higher than those in NPDR group (P<0.05). There were significant differences in age, duration of diabetes, SBP, homeostasis model assessment-β (HOMA-β), mean blood glucose (MBG), LAGE, SDBG and postprandial glucose excursion (PPGE) among the four groups (P<0.05). The incidence of retinopathy increased from Q1_Fg group to Q4_Fg group (P<0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that the age, SBP, HOMA-β, and SDBG were risk factors of hyperfibrinogenemia in diabetic patients. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the course of diabetes, SBP and FIB were risk factors for diabetic retinopathy (P<0.05). Conclusion: The high glucose variability and FIB in patients with T2DM were closely associated with the risk of diabetic vascular retinopathy.