Background Diabetes and stroke prevalence rates are increasing worldwide, and both are major human health threats causing disability and death. Diabetes is a well-known independent risk factor for stroke. In addition, diabetes increases the prevalence of other stroke risk factors; however, few studies evaluate whether diabetes may influence stroke presentation. Aim of the work This study was conducted to assess the risk factors and clinical presentation of stroke in patients with and without diabetes. Patients and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 patients with radiologically confirmed acute cerebrovascular stroke, selected from tertiary care hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt. They were divided into 2 groups: group 1: 100 patients with diabetes for more than 5 years and group 2: 100 nondiabetic patients. All patients were evaluated for risk factors, stroke types, and clinical presentation. Results Compared with nondiabetic patients, diabetic patients with stroke had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (p = 0.031) and dyslipidemia (p = 0.016) and higher incidence of ischemic stroke (p = 0.030), and they were more likely to present with motor deficit (p = 0.045) and dysarthria (p = 0.048). There was a modest difference between diabetic and nondiabetic group regarding OCSP ischemic stroke subtypes, but it was non-significant. Conclusion There was a significant difference in stroke risk factors, pathological types, and presentation between diabetic and nondiabetic patients, but not in ischemic stroke anatomical subtypes.