Context Eliciting patients' views of type 2 diabetes self‐management provides insights on how policy and services might better support the needs of this population. Objective To synthesize black and ethnic minority patients' views on the barriers and facilitators influencing the self‐management of type 2 diabetes. Search strategy A systematic search of international literature published in nine electronic databases was undertaken in 2008. Search strategies used both MeSH and free‐text terms. Two relevant journals were also hand searched. Inclusion criteria Any primary empirical study published in the English language since 1986 that reported black and ethnic minority patients' views on type 2 diabetes self‐management. Data extraction and synthesis Data were extracted and study quality was formally assessed. Data were analysed using thematic synthesis. Main results Fifty‐seven studies were included, of qualitative (n = 54), mixed‐method (n = 2) or quantitative (n = 1) design. Studies were from North America (n = 41), Europe (n = 14) and Australia (n = 2), including 1735 participants in total. Three analytical themes emerged: ‘Importance of identity’; ‘Being understood by others’ and ‘Making sense of condition’, all linked conceptually under the overarching theme ‘Sense of self’. The quality of the studies varied. Discussion and conclusions The findings provide insight into what black and minority ethnic people regard as the barriers to, and facilitators of self‐management, as opposed to what health professionals, policy makers and trial researchers may have assumed. Recognition of the views of people with diabetes is essential for the design and delivery of patient‐centred care and policies.