Purpose To investigate the potential of histogram analysis based on diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in evaluating renal function and fibrosis associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Materials and methods Thirty-six CKD patients were enrolled, and DKI was performed in all patients before the renal biopsy. The histogram parameters of diffusivity (D) and kurtosis (K) were obtained using FireVoxel. The histogram parameters between the stable [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >= 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)] and impaired (eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) eGFR group were compared. Besides, patients were classified into mild, moderate, and severe fibrosis group using a semi-quantitative standard. The correlations of histogram parameters with eGFR and fibrosis scores were investigated and the diagnostic performances of histogram parameters in assessing renal dysfunction and fibrosis were analyzed. The added value of combination of most significant parameter with 24 h urinary protein (24 h-UPRO) in evaluating fibrosis was also explored. Results Seven D histogram parameters in cortex (mean, median, 10th, 25th, 75th, 90th percentiles and entropy), two D histogram parameters in medulla (75th, 90th percentiles), seven K histogram parameters in cortex (mean, min, median, 10th, 25th, 75th, 90th percentiles) and three K histogram parameters in medulla (mean, median, 25th percentile) were significantly different between the two groups. The D-mean of cortex was the most relevant parameter to eGFR (r = 0.648, P < 0.001) and had the largest area under the curve (AUC) for differentiating the stable from impaired eGFR group [AUC = 0.889; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.728-0.970]. The K-90th of cortex presented the strongest correlation with fibrosis scores (r = 0.575, P < 0.001) and achieved the largest AUC for distinguishing the mild from moderate to severe fibrosis group (AUC = 0.849, 95% CI 0.706-0.993). Combining the K-90th in cortex with 24 h-UPRO gained statistically higher AUC value (AUC = 0.880, 95% CI 0.763-0.996). Conclusion Histogram analysis based on DKI is practicable for the noninvasive assessment of renal function and fibrosis in CKD patients.