ObjectivesTo systematically review the teaching efficacy of cardiac ultrasound simulation.MethodsCNKI, VIP, PubMed, EMbase and The Cochrane Library databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on cardiac ultrasound simulation from inception to March 7th, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 7 RCTs involving 300 trainees were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: compared with traditional teaching method, trainees who received cardiac ultrasound simulation obtained higher cardiac ultrasonic structure image recognition score (SMD=1.38, 95%CI 0.81 to 1.94, P<0.000 01), higher ultrasonic image quality score (SMD=2.08, 95%CI 1.71 to 2.44, P<0.000 01), and shorter time required to obtain the correct ultrasound image (SMD=−1.19, 95%CI −1.55 to −0.83, P<0.000 01).ConclusionsThe current evidence shows that trainees who received cardiac ultrasound simulation have superior teaching effect immediately after the training compared with those who received traditional teaching method. However, further high-quality researches are needed to confirm whether there is a difference between the two training methods in long-term teaching effect.