Introduction: The Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is considered a serious public health problem in Brazil and in the world, increased by the modern life style, characterized by reduced physical activity, increased obesity and aging of the population. The diabetic myopathy is characterized as a complication in the striated skeletal muscles caused by diabetes, characterized by decreased muscle mass, weakness and reduced physical capacity. Thus the present study aimed to review in the literature the main changes suffered by muscle cells associated with Diabetes Mellitus type I. Material and Methods: The present review regards to the major studies in digital databases about the effects of DM type I on the morphology of the skeletal muscles. The search for references was performed in the following databases: Medical Literature and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE/ PUBMED), Google Scholar and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO). Articles should have the following criteria to enter in the research: articles published in the last ten years, in English, Portuguese or Spanish and available online. Results: The database that had the highest number of publications was MEDLINE (98), followed by SCIELO (56) and Google Scholar (43). Only, 4 articles were selected. The articles were described according to the year of publication, title of work, journal and objectives. Conclusion: This review shows a clear association between diabetes mellitus type I and changes in skeletal muscle. The risks of atrophy in the muscles, especially the members, were significantly higher in patients with this syndrome than in normal patients. Which makes the issue of fundamental importance to the area of health.