Objective To evaluate the maternal satisfaction and the clinical effect of kangaroo mother care (KMC) in preterm infants. Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid, Springer, CNKI, CBM and Taiwan Database of Journal Fulltext (from establishment to September 2007) and hand searched relevant conference proceedings to identify randomized controlled trials on kangaroo mother care. The quality of included trials was assessed. Meta-analyses were conducted using The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2 software. Results A total of 5 eligible studies were included. No significant differences were observed in infant mortality, incidence of severe infections, and psychomotor development at 12 months (corrected for age) between the KMC group and the routine therapy group (Pgt;0.05). Compared to the routine therapy group, the KMC group had lower incidences of nosocomial infection, upper respiratory tract disease at 6-month follow-up and not exclusively breastfeeding at discharge (Plt;0.05). KMC could improve mother’s sense of competence during her baby’s stay in hospital and NICU, increase infant weight at discharge, relieve mother’s feelings of worry and stress during her baby’s stay in hospital (Plt;0.05). Conclusions The currently published evidence from randomised trials supports the use of KMC in preterm infants, which is a scientific, effective and humanistic nursing model. Further multicentre and large-scale randomized controlled trials of KMC are still needed to evaluate its potential influence on infant mortality and psychomotor development.