ObjectiveTo systematically review the effectiveness and safety of transurethral ureteroscopy lithotripsy in the treatment of upper ureteral calculi. MethodsWe electronically searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2013), PubMed (1966 to 2013.8), EMbase (1990 to 2013.8), CNKI (1949 to 2013.9), CBM (1978 to 2013.9), VIP (1989 to 2013.8) and WanFang Data (1990 to 2013.8) for the randomized controlled studies (RCTs) related to retroperitoneoscopy ureterolithotomy versus transurethral ureteroscopy lithotripsy for upper ureteral calculi. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and evaluated methodological quality of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 16 RCTs involving 1 410 patients (transurethral ureteroscopy lithotripsy:747 cases; etroperitoneal laparoscopic ureterolithotomy:663 cases) were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, transurethral ureteroscopy lithotripsy was lower than retroperitoneoscopy ureterolithotomy in success rates of surgery (OR=0.26, 95%CI 0.14 to 0.51), 3-day stone clearance rates (OR=0.06, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.11), and 1-month stone clearance rates (OR=0.21, 95%CI 0.08 to 0.53), while it showed superiority in operation time (MD=-22.35, 95%CI-35.29 to-9.41) and postoperative hospital stay (MD=-1.84, 95%CI-3.44 to-0.24). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that, in the treatment of upper ureteral calculi, transurethral ureteroscopy lithotripsy causes less operation time and postoperative hospital stay, but it had no advantage in success rates of surgery, 3-day stone clearance rates, and 1-month stone clearance rates.