Objective To systematically assess the effectiveness and safety of streamlined liner of the pharynx airway (SLIPA) compared with endotracheal tube (TT) for airway management in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. Methods Databases such as PubMed (1992 to February 2012), EMbase (1984 to February 2012), MEDLINE (Ovid, 1964 to February 2012), SCI (1992 to February 2012), CNKI (1992 to February 2012), CBM (2002 to 2012) as well as WanFang Data (1992 to February 2012) were searched for relevant literature. The references of the included articles were also manually traced. Two reviewers independently screened the trials according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of methodology. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.0 software. Results Ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 664 patients were included. Results of meta-analysis showed that: a) as for side effects, none of the patients experienced regurgitation or hypoventilation during operation; b) as for extubation response, SLIPA was proved fewer than TT during extubation with a significant difference (RR=0.14, 95%CI 0.05 to 0.36, Plt;0.000 1); c) SLIPA was superior to TT with regard to reducing postoperative sore throat (RR=0.15, 95%CI 0.06 to 0.38, Plt;0.000 1); d) SLIPA was similar to TT with regard to Ppeak after peritoneal insufflations (WMD=–0.07, 95%CI –0.73 to 0.59, P=0.83); e) as for PETCO2, the SLIPA group was lower than the TT group obviously after peritoneal insufflations (WMD=–1.09, 95%CI –1.70 to –0.49, P=0.000 4); f) as for hemodynamic change, the SLIPA group was more stable than the TT group during the operation with significant differences (Plt;0.05). Conclusion Current studies suggest that it is safe and effective to apply SLIPA for ventilation in laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. However, due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are need.