Objective: to evaluate gender differences in quality of life and anthropometric indicators among people with type 2 diabetes in comparison with people without diabetes. Method: Quan-titative and cross-sectional study with 117 patients type 2 diabetes and 81control aged 40 or over. Univariate analysis was used for sociodemographic variables and T-Student test was also used to compare the means in quality of life and anthropometric indicators. Results: women's quality of life was worse to a greater extent when compared to men in the presence of diabetes, especially in the mental component. Women presented higher values for anthropometric varia-bles, what may be a factor that help to explain the lower quality of life. Conclusion: women have the worst results in the variables studied, what suggest the relevance to adopt a gender-oriented strategies in the assistance of people with diabetes making possible a better control of the disease.