ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) on the hospital mortality of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) by using cumulative meta-analysis. MethodsThe PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, WanFang Data, CNKI, and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to the objective from inception to June 30, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. A cumulative meta-analysis was then performed by using StataSE 12.0 software. ResultsA total of 9 RCTs involving 533 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that APRV could reduce the hospital mortality of patients with ARDS (RR=0.70, 95%CI 0.54 to 0.91, P<0.01) compared with traditional mechanical ventilation. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that APRV can reduce the hospital mortality of patients with ARDS. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.