ObjectiveTo evaluate the relationship between four classic inflammatory biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC), IL (interleukin family), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and valve replacement (VR) surgeries.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMBase, the Cochrane Library, Ovid, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP database and WanFang database from the inception to April 2020. Studies on the relationship between POAF and the above four inflammatory biomarkers were analyzed. Two researchers independently reviewed the literature, extracted data and evaluated the quality of the literature. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 47 articles were included, covering 10 711 patients. The levels of preoperative CRP (SMD=0.38, 95%CI 0.14-0.62, Z=3.12, P=0.002) and postoperative CRP (SMD=0.40, 95%CI 0.06-0.74, Z=2.33, P=0.02), IL-6 (SMD=1.34, 95%CI 0.98-1.70, Z=7.26, P<0.001) and TNF-α (SMD=−0.33, 95%CI −0.65-−0.01, Z=2.02, P=0.040) were related to POAF, while preoperative IL-8 (SMD=−0.05, 95%CI −0.28-0.18, Z=0.42, P=0.68) and TNF-α (SMD=−0.43, 95%CI −1.22-0.36, Z=1.07, P=0.28), postoperative WBC (WMD=1.16, 95%CI −0.09-2.42, Z=1.82, P=0.07) and IL-10 (SMD=0.21, 95%CI −0.35-0.77, Z=0.73, P=0.46) were not related to POAF. The relationships between preoperative WBC and IL-10, postoperative IL-8 and POAF were inclusive, which needed further verification. Furthermore, the relationship between postoperative CRP and POAF were not consistent, as they were not significantly correlated in sub-group analysis.ConclusionThe inflammatory substrate before the surgery and inflammatory reaction induced by the operation is related to the occurrence and maintenance of POAF. Compared with preoperative inflammatory status, postoperative inflammatory factors may have a greater predictive value for POAF. Preoperative CRP, postoperative IL-6 and TNF-α levels are reliable biomarkers of POAF.