ObjectiveTo systematically review the influence of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer on survival. MethodsWe comprehensively searched databases including The Cochrane Library (Issue 11, 2013), PubMed, EMbase, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data from inception to December 2013 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the influencing on survival of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer patients after operation. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality of included studies. Then meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 7 RCTs involving 1 079 patients were included (544 cases and 535 controls). The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with single radical correction, the patients with adjuvant chemotherapy were better in prolonging total survival time (WMD=5.45, 95%CI 2.52 to 8.39, P=0.000 3), and increasing 2-year (RR=1.17, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.35, P=0.03) as well as 5-year survival rates (RR=1.80, 95%CI 1.24 to 2.62, P=0.002) with significant differences. But for 1-year survival rates, no significant difference was found between the two groups (RR=1.02, 95%CI 0.94 to 1.11, P=0.65). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy should be applied after resection of pancreatic cancer.