Aldose reductase (AR), the key enzyme of the polyol pathway, is known to play important roles in the diabetic complications. The inhibitors of AR, therefore, would be potential agents for the prevention of diabetic complications. In order to clarify the structural requirements of flavonoids for aldose reductase inhibitory activity, thirty flavonoids were examined. Among the thirty flavonoids, flavonols such as quercetin (5), reyneutrin (7), quercitrin (9), isoquercitrin (11), and avicularin (14) were found to exhibit much stronger AR inhibition. Lonicerin (10), amentoflavone (27) and sophoraflavanone B (30) were also showed strong inhibitory activity. Especially, quercitrin and reyneutrin exhibited the most inhibitory potency on rat lens (RL) AR. The results suggested that flavonol having the 7-hydroxyl and/or catechol moiety at the B ring exhibit strong activity. In addition, flavonols having 3-O-monosaccharide also showed stronger inhibition than free flavonols at the 3-position. These results suggested that quercitrin and reyneutrin are attributed to be the promising compounds for the prevention and/or treatment of diabetic complications.