Objective To compare the effectiveness and safety of linezolid with vancomycin for the treatment of people with Gram-positive bacteraemia. Methods We electronically searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2009), MEDLINE, EMbase, Current Controlled Trials, The National Research Register, CBM disc and CNKI. We also handsearched some relevant journals. The search time was up to March 10, 2009. Randomized controlled trials of linezolid versus vancomycin for treatment of Gram-positive bacteraemia were included. Meta-analyses were performed for the results of homogeneous studies using the Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.0 software. Results A total of 8 randomized controlled trials involving 670 patients with Gram-positive bacteraemia were included. The results indicated that there was no significant difference between linezolid and vancomycin groups in treatment of Gram-positive bacteraemia [RR= 1.07, 95%CI (0.98,1.17), P= 0.15], MRSA bacteraemia [RR=1.22, 95%CI (0.97,1.53), P= 0.10] or catheter-related bacteraemia [RR= 1.01, 95%CI (0.86,1.19), P= 0.90]. There was no difference between groups in the total adverse effect (P=0.64). The rate of renal dysfunction was higher in vancomycin group (P=0.0003) and the rate of thrombopenia was higher in linezolid group (P=0.01). Conclusion Linezolid is associated with the outcomes that are not inferior to those of vancomycin in the patients with Gram-positive bacteraemia. More high-quality, large-scale randomized controlled trials exclusive for the bacteraemia are required.