ObjectivesTo systematically review the risk factors of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae colonization or infection in neonates.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect cohort or case-control studies on the risk factors of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae colonization or infection in neonates from inception to May 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias of included studies, and meta-analysis was performed by RevMan5.3 software.ResultsA total of 9 case-control studies involving 759 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, maternal factors like placental abruption (OR=6.25, 95%CI 1.47 to 26.61, P=0.01), premature rupture of fetal membranes of parturient (OR=5.62, 95%CI 2.63 to 12.00, P<0.000 01), pregnancy-induced hypertension (OR=2.04, 95%CI 1.49 to 2.80, P<0.000 01), carbapenem antibiotics used in mothers (OR=1.77, 95%CI 1.10 to 2.81, P=0.017), neonatal factors like premature delivery (OR=1.96, 95%CI 1.06 to 3.61, P=0.03), mechanical ventilation (OR=2.14, 95%CI 1.01 to 4.55, P=0.05), surgical procedure (OR=14.17, 95%CI 2.46 to 81.70, P=0.003), umbilical vein catheter (OR=1.93, 95%CI 1.20 to 3.11, P=0.007), peripherally inserted central catheter (OR=4.30, 95%CI 1.86 to 9.93, P=0.000 6), nasogastric feeding (OR=4.37, 95%CI 1.44 to 13.29, P=0.009), use of carbapenems (OR=3.04, 95%CI 1.91 to 4.84, P<0.000 01), and admission to NICU (OR=2.78, 95%CI 1.79 to 4.33, P<0.000 01) were the risk factors of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae colonization or infection in neonates. Breastfeeding (OR=0.30, 95%CI 0.13 to 0.70, P=0.005) was the protective factor of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae colonization or infection in neonates.ConclusionsThe current evidence shows that maternal factors like placental abruption, premature rupture of fetal membranes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, carbapenem antibiotics used in mothers, and neonatal factors like premature delivery, mechanical ventilation, surgical procedure, umbilical vein catheter, peripherally inserted central catheter, nasogastric feeding, use of carbapenems, and admission to NICU are the risk factors of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae colonization or infection in neonates; while breastfeeding is the protective factor of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae colonization or infection in neonates. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify the conclusions.