Patients with diabetes have an increased risk of coronary artery disease, and are at an increased risk of mortality and morbidity with coronary revascularization procedures. This article provides a review of the currently available information on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the diabetic patient. The effectiveness of PCI in diabetes is discussed, and the factors that may influence outcomes are explored. Recent developments in PCI procedures, such as stents and drug-eluting stents, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors and brachytherapy, are evaluated in terms of their ability to improve the prognosis in this patient group.