Background: About 537 million people round the world are living with diabetes of which 90% of them have diabetes type 2. Both hereditary and lifestyle are important factors of developing type 2 diabetes. Treatment consists of both medical and non-medical interventions in form of self-care to reduce complications. 

Aim: The aim is to describe patient´s experience of self-care of type 2 diabetes.

Method: A literature review with qualitative content analysis where patient´s experince of self-care is described with 12 selected scientific articles.

Results: Three main themes and eight subthemes emerged. They were 1) Important lifestyle change for patient´s wellbeing with subthemes where the person faced challenges with diet, physical activities and control of blood sugar. 2) Patient´s need for support to promote wellbeing with subthemes: support from family and friends, knowledge and support from healthcare givers. 3) Psychological effects with stigma and identity as subthemes. 

Conclusions: It´s important for patient´s self-care to implement lifestyle changes with type 2 diabetes. Lack of knowledge became a challenge for self-care. There is need for support from family and friends but also from health workers. Unwillingness to change old habits resulted to psychological challenges like stigma and acceptance of a new identity of oneself. Nurses and health workers feel a challenge with educating patients on self-care.