Objective To compare the surgical outcome and investigate the clinic value between laparoscopic operation and laparotomy in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy. Methods We searched PubMed, EMbase, SCI, The Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China Journal Full Text Database, Chinese Medical Association Journals, and references of the included studies up to April 2009. Studies involving treatment outcome of ectopic pregnancy using laparoscopy compared with laparotomy were included. Data were extracted and methodological quality were evaluated by two reviewers independently with designed extraction form. The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.0.1 software was used for data analyses. Results A total of 11 studies involving 1795 patients were included. The results of meta-analyses showed that laparoscopy comparing with laparotomy; the operation time and complications had no difference; intraoperative blood loss was less than laparotomy; intestinal gas exhaust and evacuation active time was earlier than laparotomy. Conclusion Laparoscopy treating for ectopic pregnancy is better than laparotomy. It is a minimally invasive surgical technique, and is worthy to be popularized.