In conclusion, we identified significant associations of genetic variants in or near CDKAL1, CDKN2BAS, and KCNQ1 with the risk for lean T2D among Chinese Han individuals, and also the associations of genetic variants near KCNQ1 or in FTO with the risk for obese T2D. Here, CDKN2B-AS1 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.