Early examination has shown that chalcone inhibited TGF‐β1‐induced fibrosis on diabetic nephropathy.52, 53 Here, we found that the chalcone FKA decreased the expression of fibronectin and down‐regulated MMP‐9/‐2 and up‐regulated TIMP‐1 expression in TGF‐β1‐stimulated A7r5 cells, which indicated that FKA might target both TGF‐β1 and its downstream pro‐fibrotic proteins. This evidence concerns the gene TIMP1 and diabetic kidney disease.