Nephrotoxicity severely limits the chemotherapeutic efficacy of cisplatin (CDDP). Oxidative stress is associated with CDDP-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Methylglyoxal (MG) forms advanced glycation end products that elevate oxidative stress. We aimed to explore the role of MG and its metabolite D-lactate and identify the proteins involved in CDDP-induced AKI. Six-week-old female BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally administered CDDP (5 mg/kg/day) for 3 or 5 days. Blood urea nitrogen (42.6 ± 7.4 vs. 18.3 ± 2.5; p < 0.05) and urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminide (NAG; 4.89 ± 0.61 vs. 2.43 ± 0.31 U/L; p < 0.05) were significantly elevated in the CDDP 5-day group compared to control mice. Histological analysis confirmed AKI was successfully induced. Confocal microscopy revealed TNF-α was significantly increased in the CDDP 5-day group. Fluorogenic derivatized liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (FD-LC-MS/MS) showed the kidney MG (36.25 ± 1.68 vs. 18.95 ± 2.24 mg/g protein, p < 0.05) and D-lactate (1.78 ± 0.29 vs. 1.12 ± 0.06 mol/g protein, p < 0.05) contents were significantly higher in the CDDP 5-day group than control group. FD-LC-MS/MS proteomics identified 33 and nine altered peaks in the CDDP 3-day group and CDDP 5-day group (vs. control group); of the 35 proteins identified using the MOSCOT database, 11 were antioxidant-related. Western blotting confirmed that superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD-1) and parkinson disease protein 7 (DJ-1) are upregulated and may participate with MG in CDDP-induced AKI. This study demonstrates TNF-α, MG, SOD-1 and DJ-1 play crucial roles in CDDP-induced AKI.