Abstract： Objective To explore the clinical effect of rehabilitation nursing intervention in elderly patients with dia-betes mellitus.Methods A total of 64 elderly patients with diabetes mellitus admitted to Tengzhou Second People's Hospital from January 2022 to May 2023 were selected as the research objects.According to the coin toss method,they were divided into reference group(32 cases,using routine basic nursing intervention in extended nursing)and study group(32 cases,using rehabilitation nursing intervention in extended nursing).The blood glucose level,Exer-cise of Self-care Agency Scale score,and the quality of life score of the patients in the two groups were compared.Results After nursing,compared with the reference group,the study group had lower fasting blood glucose levels and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose levels,and the differences were statistically significant(both P<0.05).Compared with the reference group,the study group had higher scores in terms of self-responsibility,self-concept,health knowl-edge and self-management skills,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Compared with the ref-erence group,the study group showed significant improvements in psychological function,social function,physical function and material life score,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Conclusion For elderly patients with diabetes during the period of extended care,the scientific application of rehabilitation nursing can sig-nificantly reduce the blood glucose level of elderly patients with diabetes mellitus,and significantly improve their nursing ability and quality of life.