ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of glucocorticoids in the treatment of non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION).MethodsGlucocorticoids published in the National Library of Medicine PubMed; Netherlands Medical Abstracts Database Embase; Cochrane Library, an evidence-based medical library; China Cnkipedia; China Biomedical Literature Service; Chongqing Vipul Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Science and Technology Journal Full Text Database were searched about computer. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized controlled trials (NRCTs) for the treatments of NAION were subjected to meta-analysis. The search period was from the establishment of each database to March 2020. The literature was screened and data were extracted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the RCT and NRCT studies was evaluated using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool and the MINORS evaluation scale, respectively. The data were analyzed using RevMan version 5.3 software which was provided by the Cochrane Collaboration Network.ResultsAn initial search of 395 papers was conducted, and 10 papers were finally included for this meta-analysis, including 3 RCT studies and 7 NRCT studies. A total of 1057 patients with NAION were included. The 3 RCT studies were analyzed descriptively as the outcome indicators were described in different ways. A meta-analysis of 7 NRCT studies showed that patients in the treatment group showed significantly better visual prognosis (relative risk=1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 1.51, P=0.003) and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness were obviously improved (mean difference=7.76, 95% confidence interval 1.58 to 13.94, P=0.01) than the control group. Four studies reported the occurrence of adverse reactions in the treatment versus control groups. None of the above studies provided a detailed analysis of the prognosis of patients with adverse reactions.ConclusionThe efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids in the treatment of NAION is unclear and needs to be validated in a larger sample of RCTs.