Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of the imidazopyridine analogs as novel GSK3β inhibitors for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus are described. Most of the analogs exhibited excellent inhibitory activities (IC50 < 44 nM) against glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β). The structure–activity relationship (SAR) of the imidazopyridine analogs and the binding mode of analog 23 in the catalytic