Objective To assess the efficacy, safety and dosage regimen of docetaxel in patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods We searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, VIP and etc to collect controlled trials which involved docetaxel as the second-line treatment of NSCLC. Two reviewers evaluated the quality of included trials independently. The Cochrane Collaboration’s software RevMan 4.2 was used for meta-analyses. Results Eight randomized controlled trials were included, all of which didn’t mention the blinding methods. Compared with best supportive care (BSC), the docetaxel group showed longer time to progression (10.6 vs. 6.7 weeks, Plt;0.001) and longer median survival (7.0 vs. 4.6 months, P=0.047), as well as greater 1-year survival (37% vs. 11%, P=0.003). Patients treated with docetaxel showed higher incidence of hematologic toxicity than those treated with BSC. Meta-analyses of different docetaxel dosage regimens (1-week vs. 3-week) showed that there were no statistical differences in terms of disease control rate, response rate or 1-year survival; but the incidence of hematologic toxicity of 1-week regimen was lower than that of 3-week regimen, and no statistical difference was noted in the incidence of non-hematologic toxicity between the two regimens. Conclusion Docetaxel as the second-line chemotherapy for NSCLC significantly improved survival compared with BSC. Two dosage regimens of docetaxel had no difference in efficacy, but some differences in hematologic toxicity. Thus, if serious hematologic toxicity occurs, the 3-week treatment regimen of docetaxel could be replaced by 1-week treatment regimen.