Aldose reductase (AR) has been demonstrated to play important role in the development of the diabetic complications such as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy and diabetic nephropathy. To discover novel treatments for diabetic complications from natural sources, 69 Korean herbal medicines have been investigated for inhibitory activities on AR. Among them, 7 herbal medicines, Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (stems), Artemisia japonica (whole plants), Wisteria floribunda (leaves), Eurya japonica (stems, twigs and leaves, leaves), Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (stems) exhibited a significant inhibitory activity compared with 3,3-tetramethyleneglutaric acid as positive control.