Diabetic kidney disease has now become the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Podocytes are an important filtration barrier of the glomerulus, and their damage plays an important role in the occurrence and progression of glomerular sclerosis and DKD. This article discusses the molecular mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine on the protection of podocyte damage in diabetic kidney disease from the aspects of anti-oxidative stress, activating autophagy, and regulating signal pathways, in order to further deepen the modern material basis theory of traditional Chinese medicine treatment and provide reference for the treatment of DKD.