Purpose To observe the histopathological changes in the periodontal tissues of mandibular molars in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats after irradiation. Materials and Methods : The male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing approximately 250 gm were divided into four groups: control, diabetes, irradiation, and diabetes- irradiation groups. Diabetes mellitus was induced in the rats by injecting streptozotocin. Rats in the control and irradiation groups were injected with citrate buffer only After 5days, the head and neck region of the rats in irradiation and diabetes-irradiation groups were irradiated with a single absorbed dose of 10Gy. All the rats were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after irradiation. The specimen including the mandibular molars were sectioned and observed using a histopathological method. Results In the diabetes group, osteoclastic activity was observed in the alveolar bone and the root throughout the period of experiment. Also, osteoblastic and fibroblastic activities were markedly decreased. In the irradiation group, the osteoclasts were observed in the alveolar bone and the dilated capillaries were increased in the early experimental phases. However, vigorous osteoblastic activity was noted in the late experimental phases. In the diabetes-irradiation group, osteoblastic activity in the alveolar bone and the root was observed in the early experimental phases. However, there were no resorption and osteoblastic activity in the alveolar bone and the root in the late experimental phases, and obvious atrophic change of fibrous tissues was noted. Conclusion : This experiment suggests that osteoblastic activity was caused by irradiation in the late experimental phases, but atrophic change of the periodontal ligament tissues was induced after irradiation in diabetic state.