The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of a pedometer and a cognitive-behavioural group intervention for promoting physical activity (PA) in type 2 diabetes patients. We recruited 41 participants and randomized them into an intervention group (IG) (n=20) and a control group (CG) (n = 21). The intervention consisted of five sessions within 12 weeks, a booster session after 22 weeks and a pedometer. Primary outcome was PA assessed by accelerometer (minutes per day) and pedometer (steps per day). Secondary outcomes were weight, body mass index, blood pressure, haemoglobin A1c and total cholesterol. After 12 weeks, the IG increased with more than 2000 steps day(-1) compared with the CG, whereas sedentary behaviour decreased more than 1 hour day(-1) in the IG and showed no change in the CG. There was no intervention effect on the accelerometer-based PA nor on health measurements. After 1 year, the increase in steps per day remained significant in the IG, but sedentary activity increased again to baseline levels. This pilot study showed that the combination of a 12-week cognitive-behavioural intervention and a pedometer has a significant short-term impact on daily steps and sedentary behaviour but that the effects on total PA and long-term effects were limited.