ObjectiveTo systematic review the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on patients with sepsis.MethodsThe PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM databases were searched. The retrieval time was from the inception to October 1st, 2019. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about acupuncture on the sepsis were screened. Two researchers independently screened the articles, extracted and analyzed the data, evaluated the risk of bias included in the study. Meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 20 RCTs involving 1 337 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that there were significant differences between the acupuncture group with conventional treatment in 28-day mortality [RR=0.69, 95%CI (0.5, 0.9), P=0.03], APACHE II score at 3rd day [MD=−2.4, 95%CI (−3.68, −1.12), P=0.0002] and 7th day [MD=−4.37, 95%CI (−6.32, −2.21), P<0.0001], length of the ICU stay [MD=−1.54, 95%CI (−2.81, −0.27), P=0.02], the effective rate for improved gastrointestinal function [RR=1.5, 95%CI (1.09, 2.06), P=0.01], concentrations of PCT [MD=−2.23, 95%CI (−3.33, −1.13), P<0.001] and TNF-α [MD=-14.86, 95%CI (−23.74, −5.97), P=0.001] at 7th day. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups about the CD8+ count at 7th day [MD=1.65, 95%CI (−0.32, 3.62), P=0.1].ConclusionAvailable evidence suggests that acupuncture may be a potential treatment method for sepsis patients. Due to the limited quantity and quality of included studios, the above conclusions are needed to be verified by more high-quality studies.