Objective To systemically review the effectiveness and safety of human recombinant activated protein C (rhAPC) for severe sepsis. Methods Such databases as MEDLINE, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, VIP, CNKI and CBM were electronically searched for comprehensively collecting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness and safety of human recombinant activated protein C (rhAPC) for severe sepsis from inception to July 2012. References of included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0 software. Results Totally, five RCTs involving 6 307 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, no significant difference was found in 28-day mortality (RR=1.00, 95%CI 0.84 to 1.19, P=1.00) and 90-day mortality (RR=1.00, 95%CI 0.87 to 1.14, P=0.96) between the rhAPC group and the placebo group. The results of subgroup analysis showed that, the two groups were similar in the 28-day mortality of patients with different Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores (APACHE II scorelt;25: RR=1.06, 95%CI 0.93 to 1.21, P=0.37; APACHE II score≥25: RR=0.93, 95%CI 0.69 to 1.24, P=0.60), and in the 28-day mortality by protein C deficiency class (APC deficiencylt;80%: RR=0.96, 95%CI 0.56 to 1.65, P=0.89; APC deficiencygt;80%: RR=0.61, 95%CI 0.34 to 1.08, P=0.09). Besides, bleeding risk in the rhAPC group was 1.62 fold more than that in the placebo group (RR=1.62, 95%CI 1.17 to 2.23, P=0.004). No significant difference was found in the incidence of adverse reaction (RR=1.04, 95%CI 0.92 to 1.18, P=0.53). Conclusion Current evidence suggests that, rhAPC could not improve the prognosis of patients with severe sepsis, but it significantly increases bleeding risk.