Object To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the preoperative T staging of gastric cancer. MethodsThe databases such as the PubMed, Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews, EMbase, CNKI, and Wanfang Data were searched on computer from 1993 to 2012.The reviewers screened the trials according to inclusion and exclusion criteria strictly, extracted the data, and assessed the methodology quality.Meta-analysis were performed using the Metadisc 1.40 software, the pathology diagnosis as gold standard.The acquired pooled sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) were used to describe the value of MRI in T staging. ResultsEight case-control studies involving 302 patients with gastric cancer were included in the study.The pooled statistical results of Meta-analysis showed that:the pooled sensitivity and specificity of MRI for T1-stage gastric cancer were 85%(55%-98%) and 97%(91%-99%) respectively, and the area under the SROC curve (AUC) was 0.961.The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MRI for T2-stage gastric cancer were 73%(60%-84%) and 93%(89%-96%) respectively, and the AUC was 0.935.The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MRI for T3-stage gastric cancer were 87%(81%-92%) and 82%(74%-88%) respectively, and the AUC was 0.914.The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MRI for T4-stage gastric cancer were 75%(62%-86%) and 97%(94%-99%) respectively, and the AUC was 0.963. ConclusionMRI has the high consistency in preoperative T staging with pathology, and should be recommended as a preferred to increase the accuracy of preoperative staging, and improve the prognosis.