A lot of evidence indicates that lipoprotein(a) is related closely to coronary heart disease, stroke, calcified aortic valve disease and other cardio-cerebrovascular disease. With further research, the relationship between LP(a) and diabetic nephropathy (DN) is also discovered. LP(a) may play a certain role in the occurrence, development, clinical diagnosis and treatment of DN. In this article, we review the recent research progress in LP(a), in aspects of its structure properties, genetics, metabolism, and correlation with DN.