Objective To systematically review the willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and its influencing factors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Methods We conducted a comprehensive search on various databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP database, Wanfang data, China Biomedical Literature Service System, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase, covering the period from database inception to September 6th, 2023. We focused on studies that publicly reported data on the willingness to use PrEP and its influencing factors among MSM in China. The quality of included studies was assessed using the quality evaluation criteria recommended by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 13.1 software were used to perform meta-analysis for the willingness to use PrEP and its influencing factors among MSM in China. Results A total of 24 cross-sectional studies with 19 influencing factors and a sample size of 16499 participants were included in the review. The results revealed a PrEP usage intention rate of 60.4% [95% confidence interval (CI) (51.8%, 68.9%)] among the MSM population in China. Factors such as awareness of PrEP [odds ratio (OR)=5.26, 95%CI (1.33, 20.82)], having heard of PrEP [OR=1.84, 95%CI (1.28, 2.64)], age<25 years [OR=1.92, 95%CI (1.34, 2.77)], being a student [OR=1.92, 95%CI (1.17, 3.16)], monthly income of 1000-3000 yuan [OR=1.36, 95%CI (1.12, 1.65)], history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing [OR=2.05, 95%CI (1.53, 2.74)], history of sexually transmitted infections [OR=1.75, 95%CI (1.27, 2.40)], seeking sexual partners online [OR=1.38, 95%CI (1.19, 1.59)], openness about sexual orientation [OR=1.90, 95%CI (1.27, 2.84)], having a non-local household registration [OR=1.66, 95%CI (1.37, 2.02)], and recommending PrEP to friends [OR=20.14, 95%CI (2.59, 156.91)] were identified as promoting factors for the willingness to use PrEP. Conversely, a homosexual orientation [OR=0.67, 95%CI (0.52, 0.85)] was identified as a barrier to the willingness to use PrEP. Conclusions Chinese MSM have a low intention to use PrEP, and there are many factors affecting the intention to use PrEP in MSM. In the future HIV prevention and control work, measures such as strengthening education and publicity of PrEP, providing a certain degree of support for PrEP costs, strengthening health education on campus, strengthening community organizations and support networks should be taken to promote the willingness of MSM to use PrEP.