Purpose: The purpose of this study was to predict the risk factors for vascular complications among patients with type 2 diabetes. Method: The data were collected from August to September, 2007 using clinical examination and questionnaires. Patients (N=101) were recruited from the endocrinology department of P University hospital in D city. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. Results: The cardiovascular risk of patients with diabetes was significantly related to self care behavior, family history, and smoking status. The risk of peripheral vascular complications was not related to predictors included in the study. With multivariate analyses, significant predictors of cardiovascular risk for these patients were self care behavior, family history, and smoking status ($R^2=.40$, p<.0001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that smoking cessation and improving self-care behavior are essential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications among patients with diabetes. To enhance self-care practices for the patients with diabetes, nursing interventions, such as telephone counseling, problem focused nursing counseling, and peer group activities should be considered.