Background: Surgical operations which shorten the intestinal tract between the stomach and the terminal ileum result in an early improvement in type 2 diabetes, and one possible explanation is the arrival of undigested food in the terminal ileum. This study was designed to evaluate the role of the distal ileum in the improvement of glucose control in type 2 diabetic patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Methods: An ileal transposition (IT) to the jejunum was performed in lean diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. The IT was compared to sham-operated diabetic rats and a control group of diabetic rats. Non-diabetic controls were age-matched Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, which underwent IT and no operation. Food intake and body weight were measured. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed 10 days before the operation and 10 days, 30 days and 45 days after the surgery. GLP-1 and insulin were measured during the OGTT 45 days after surgery. An insulin tolerance test (ITT) was performed 50 days after surgery. Results: Glucose tolerance improved in the IT diabetic group compared with both the sham-operated animals and control diabetic group 30 days and 45 days after surgery (P=0.029 and P=0.023, respectively). Insulin sensitivity, as measured by an ITT, was not significantly different between diabetic groups and the normal groups respectively after surgery. No differences in basal glucose and glucose tolerance were noted between non-diabetic operated animals and control non-diabetic rats. No differences were recorded between the diabetic rat groups and the non-diabetic rats in terms of weight and food intake. GLP-1 levels were significantly higher in the IT diabetic group compared with the sham-operated rats (P=0.05). Conclusions: Ileal transposition is effective in inducing an improvement in glucose tolerance in lean diabetic rats without affecting weight and food intake. The possible mechanism underlying the early improvement of diabetes after bariatric surgery may be due to the action of the terminal ileum through an insulin-independent action.