After adjustment for age, sex, history of diabetes, atrial fibrillation/flutter, smoking status, stroke subtype, TOAST, hypoglycemic agents, antiplatelet agents, anticoagulant agents, baseline NIHSS, TC, HDL-C, TG, hs-CRP, ALT and AST, higher TBIL, DBIL, and IBIL levels were associated increased risk of poor functional outcome at 3 months (P for trend < 0.0001), the adjusted OR for the quartile 4 subgroup and mRS score 2–6 at 3 months was 1.37 (95 % CI, 1.19–1.59) for TBIL, 1.38 (95 % CI, 1.17–1.62) for DBIL, and 1.30 (95 % CI, 1.12–1.51) for IBIL, respectively. Here, GPT is linked to diabetes mellitus.