Several defects in response to insulin have been described in vivo and in vitro in type 2 diabetes: a decreased glucose transport, defective glucose oxidation and altered glycogen synthesis. At present, it is unknown whether glucose oxidation is primarily affected or secondarily affected by, e.g. increased free fatty acids (FFA). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether myotubes established from type 2 diabetic subjects express a primarily or a FFA-induced reduced insulin-mediated glucose oxidation. We have therefore investigated glucose oxidation under basal, physiological conditions and during acute insulin stimulation with/without FFA. We found that myotubes established from type 2 diabetic subjects express a reduced insulin-stimulated increase in glucose oxidation. Moreover, an acute exposure to FFA reduces insulin-mediated glucose oxidation without alterations in glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis. Thus, we conclude that the diminished increase in insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation seen in type 2 diabetic subjects in vivo may be of genetic origin. Moreover, the glucose–fatty acid cycle seems not to be crucial for the pathophysiology of insulin resistance.