Background The debate over the overall benefits of self-monitoring of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes patients is still continuing.We aimed to assess the difference in glycaemic control and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk levels of experimental type 2 diabetes patients provided with facilities for self-monitoring blood glucose and their counterparts without such facilities.Methods Sixty-one patients who had no prior experience in using glucometers were studied as intervention (n=30) and control (n=31) groups.The intervention group was trained in self-monitoring of blood glucose and documentation.Baseline blood glucose and fasting blood glucose were measured and the intervention patients were provided with glucometers and advised to self-monitor their fasting and postprandial blood glucose over six months.The 10-year CHD risk levels were determined with the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study-derived risk engine calculator.Results The age and diabetes duration were similar in the two groups (P ＞0.05).The majority of the patients were unemployed or retired females with only a primary level education.After 3 months,the haemogolbin A1c (HbA1c) levels of the control patients remained unchanged ((7.8±0.3)% vs.(7.9±0.4)%,P ＞0.05) whereas the HbA1c levels of the intervention patients were significantly reduced from the baseline at three ((9.6±0.3)% vs.(7.8±0.3)%,P ＜0.001) and six ((9.2±0.4)% vs.(7.5±0.3)%,P ＜0.001) months.Interestingly,while the 10-year CHD risk level of the control group remained unchanged after three months,that of the intervention group was remarkably reduced at three and six months from the baseline level ((7.4±1.3)% vs.(4.5±0.9)%,P=0.056).Conclusion Self-monitoring of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes patients significantly improved glycaemic control and the CHD risk profile,suggesting that type 2 diabetes patients will potentially benefit from inclusion of glucose meters and testing strips in their health-care package.