Pu-erh tea has been widely used in the world, especially in China and Korea. In this study, the comparative functional analysis of microbial-fermented Chinese and Korean tea in the prevention of diabetic nephropathy was conducted using podocytes. Chinese pu-erh tea from pan firing exhibited the protection of high glucose-induced cell death in rat podocytes. Korean microbical-fermented tea from pan firing also exhibited the mimic action of Chinese pu-erh tea. However, microbial-fermented tea from pan firing of Taicha and Yabukita slightly protect high glucoseinduced cell death in podocytes. Chinese and Korean pan firing microbial fermented tea blocked high glucose-induced increase of lipid peroxide formation, decrease of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and GSH contents in rat podocytes. In conclusion, both Chinese pu-erh tea and Korean microbial- fermented tea also exhibited the mimick action of Chinese pu-erh tea.