en تخصصي Special پژوهشي Research Objective: Physical exercise is a well-established therapeutic method in type 2 diabetes treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of eight weeks combined and High Intensity Interval Training on serum apelin levels and pancreatic &beta;-cell function in overweight women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.<br> Materials and Methods: Fifty-two overweight female patients with type 2 diabetes (aged 45-60 years old, BMI> 30) with HbA1c>6.5% participated in the study voluntarily. The participants were assigned to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) group (n= 17), combined training group (n= 17), and control group (n= 18) according to their HbA1c levels. The exercises included 12 weeks of combined training and HIIT. Levels of HbA1c and fasting glucose and insulin were measured.<br> Results: There was a significant decrease in the fasting blood glucose in the HIIT groups (P-value: 0.001). Serum insulin levels showed significant increases in the HIIT (P-value: 0.001) and combined training groups (P-value: 0.001). Changes in apelin level were not significantly different within HIIT and combined training groups (P-value: 0.13 and 0.09, respectively). The data showed significant differences in pancreatic &beta;-cells function in HIIT (P < 0.001) and combined training groups (P= 0.003). Furthermore, the ANCOVA test showed that there were no significant differences in fasting blood glucose concentrations (F= 1.853, P-value: 0.171), apelin (F= 0.511, P-value: 0.12). However, significant differences were observed between groups in insulin (F= 3.622, P-value: 0.036), and &beta;-cell function (F= 4.243, P-value: 0.003).<br> Conclusion: Physical exercise is an effective training method to improve glycemic control in woman with type 2 diabetes.<br> <br> &nbsp; Apelin, pancreatic β-cells function, Diabetes mellitus, High intensity interval training, Combined training 178 186 http://ijdo.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-30-216&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Amir Taghipour Asrami 0000-0003-34822777 Yes . Sama Technical and Vocational School, Islamic Azad University, Qaem Shahr Branch, Qaem Shahr, Iran. Hadi Ghaedi 0000-0003-1497-7528 No Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Lamerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lamerd, Iran. Ebrahim Banitalebi 0000-0001-8386-6608 No Associate Professor in Exercise Physiology, Shahrekord University, Iran.