Diabetic nephropathy is one of the major catastrophes of diabetes, which is also the most common cause of End Stage Renal Disorder (ESRD). Thus, the challenging search for early biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy risk continues. The CYP2E1 protein in circulating lymphocytes has been investigated and demonstrated as a candidate early predictor for diabetic nephropathy risk (Christina GY et. al., 2009a; 2009b; 2010a; 2010b). Subsequently, a useful biomarker should be one which is able to be detected in advance of clinical signs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the correlation of CYP2E1 protein increase with extent of glycemic control in comparison to the gold standard marker (ACR) as well as common clinical tests (Serum creatinine, eGFR) used for diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy. A cross-sectional cohort study was carried out among Malaysians, consisting of control (n=28) and type 2 diabetes (n=52) cohorts. Whole blood and urine samples were collected, lymphocytes were isolated from peripheral blood and RNA was extracted from lymphocytes and applied to the Illumina microarray gene expression platform. ACR, HbA1c and serum creatinine were measured at a hospital laboratory, eGFR was calculated using the Cockroft-Gault formular. Correlations of increments in CYP2E1 expression and traditional clinical diabetic nephropathy biomarkers with the extent of glycemic control was analysed using the Spearman Correlation Statistics test (Sigma Plot 11.0). CYP2E1 gene expression showed significant positive correlation (p<0.05) with glycemic control. ACR, eGFR and serum creatinine did no show significant correlations (p>0.05) with glycemic control. Microarray data analysis showed CYP2E1 gene expression was elevated in the diabetes cohort in comparison to the control cohort (p<0.05). Elevation in CYP2E1 gene expression was also seen in diabetes patients who had normal levels of ACR, eGFR and serum creatinine. (p>0.05) The outcome of this investigation showed elevation in CYP2E1 gene expression may be an earlier indicator of diabetic nephropathy compared to conventional markers.