Aims/hypothesis Non-albuminuric renal impairment has become the prevailing diabetic kidney disease (DKD) phenotype in individuals with type 2 diabetes and an estimated GFR (eGFR) <60 ml min −1 1.73 m −2 . In the present study, we compared the rate and determinants of all-cause death in individuals with this phenotype with those in individuals with albuminuric phenotypes. Methods This observational prospective cohort study enrolled 15,773 individuals with type 2 diabetes in 2006–2008. Based on baseline albuminuria and eGFR, individuals were classified as having: no DKD (Alb − /eGFR − ), albuminuria alone (Alb + /eGFR − ), reduced eGFR alone (Alb − /eGFR + ), or both albuminuria and reduced eGFR (Alb + /eGFR + ). Vital status on 31 October 2015 was retrieved for 15,656 individuals (99.26%). Results Mortality risk adjusted for confounders was lowest for Alb − /eGFR − (reference category) and highest for Alb + /eGFR + (HR 2.08 95% CI 1.88, 2.30), with similar values for Alb + /eGFR − (1.45 1.33, 1.58) and Alb − /eGFR + (1.58 1.43, 1.75). Similar results were obtained when individuals were stratified by sex, age (except in the lowest age category) and prior cardiovascular disease. In normoalbuminuric individuals with eGFR <45 ml min −1 1.73 m −2 , especially with low albuminuria (10–29 mg/day), risk was higher than in microalbuminuric and similar to macroalbuminuric individuals with preserved eGFR. Using recursive partitioning and amalgamation analysis, prevalent cardiovascular disease and lower HDL-cholesterol were the most relevant correlates of mortality in all phenotypes. Higher albuminuria within the normoalbuminuric range was associated with death in non-albuminuric DKD, whereas the classic ‘microvascular signatures’, such as glycaemic exposure and retinopathy, were correlates of mortality only in individuals with albuminuric phenotypes. Conclusions/interpretation Non-albuminuric renal impairment is a strong predictor of mortality, thus supporting a major prognostic impact of renal dysfunction irrespective of albuminuria. Correlates of death partly differ from the albuminuric forms, indicating that non-albuminuric DKD is a distinct phenotype. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00715481