Adiponectin is an adipocytokine which is strongly related toinsulin sensitivity and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.Adiponectin receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) is abundantly expressed in theskeletal muscles and is strongly related to insulin sensitivity.Both exercise and adiponectin are found to exert similar insulinsensitizing effects. Thus, this work aimed to study the effect of 4 weeksswimming exercise training on adiponectin concentration, as well asADIPOR1 gene expression in the soleus muscle, in normal and type 2diabetic insulin resistant rats. Type 2 diabetes was induced using acombination of high fat diet and low dose streptozotocin. Study groupsincluded: normal control rats, normal exercise-trained rats, diabeticcontrol rats, and diabetic exercise-trained rats.Results of the present study revealed significant decrease in thelevels of both adiponectin and ADIPOR1 in type 2 diabetic rats, whichwere significantly improved with exercise training, as shown in thecomparison of the diabetic control and the diabetic exercise-trainedrats. On the other hand, exercise training didn’t significantly affectadiponectin and ADIPOR1 in normal rats, as revealed from comparingthe results of the normal control and the normal exercise trained rats.We concluded that the exercise-induced improvement in insulinsensitivity in type 2 diabetic rats may be mediated, at least in part,through adiponectin and/or ADIPOR1 upregulation.