Objective To systematically review the CT characteristic differences between pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) and lung cancer presenting as solitary nodules. Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and SinoMed were searched to collect case-control studies of the patients with PC and lung cancer presenting as solitary nodules on CT. The search period was from databases establishment to December 2023. We conducted a meta-analysis on the included studies. Results A total of 7 studies were included, 342 PC patients, and 370 lung cancer patients. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with lung cancer, PC patients were more likely to have the following characteristics in CT (P<0.05): nodules located in the lower lobe of the lung [odds ratio (OR)=1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.39, 2.62)], presence of bronchial inflation sign [OR=5.79, 95%CI (1.45, 23.21)], and halo sign [OR=6.64, 95%CI (2.87, 15.38)]. Compared with PC, lung cancer patients were more likely to have the following characteristics in CT (P<0.05): nodules located in the upper lobe of the lung [OR=0.52, 95%CI (0.35, 0.78)], presence of lobulation sign [OR=0.15, 95%CI (0.08, 0.27)], spiculation sign [OR=0.48, 95%CI (0.35, 0.65)], pleural indentation sign [OR=0.15, 95%CI (0.04, 0.50)], and vascular bundle sign [OR=0.20, 95%CI (0.05, 0.77)]. There was no statistically significant difference in CT between PC patients and lung cancer patients in terms of lesion size, relationship with pleura, vacuolar sign, cavity, and whether the broad base was connected to pleura (P>0.05). Conclusions For CT showing solitary nodules, PC nodules are more likely to be distributed in the lower lobe of the lungs, with bronchial inflation sign and halo sign. Lung cancer nodules are more likely to be distributed in the upper lobe of the lungs, with lobulation sign, spiculation sign, pleural indentation sign and vascular bundle sign.