ObjectiveTo systematically review whether or not obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) increases the incidence of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease patients.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data databases were searched for studies on the relationship between OSAHS and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease patients from inception to July 2nd, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literatures, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsIn total, 11 cohort studies were included, involving 709 in exposed group and 975 in non-exposed group. The results of meta-analysis indicated that OSAHS was associated with the incidence of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease patients (RR=2.01, 95%CI 1.72 to 2.36, P<0.000 01). The subgroup analysis showed that OSAHS of PSG diagnosis increased the risk of the incidence of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease patients (RR=2.40, 95%CI 1.84 to 3.12, P<0.000 01); moderate and severe OSAHS of PSG diagnosis had higher risk of the incidence of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease patients (RR=3.73, 95%CI 2.51 to 5.53, P<0.000 01); high risk OSAHS of Berlin questionnaire assessment increased the incidence of atrial fibrillation in CAD patients (RR=1.56, 95%CI 1.27 to 1.92, P<0.000 1).ConclusionThe current evidence indicates that OSAHS is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease patients. Due to the limitation of quality and quantity of the included studies, more large-scale and fine quality research are needed to warrant the accuracy of conclusion above.