ObjectivesTo evaluate the association between high homocysteine (Hcy) levels and risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN).MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases were electronically searched to collect the case-control studies on the association between Hcy and risk of CIN from inception to November 30th, 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsTen case-control studies involving 6 124 subjects were included. Meta-analysis showed that the high Hcy level was associated with an increased risk of CIN (OR=1.59, 95%CI 1.33 to 1.89, P<0.001), and the homocysteine level in CIN group was higher than that in non-CIN group (WMD=8.74, 95%CI 6.18 to 11.31,P<0.001).ConclusionsAccording to the current evidence, the high Hcy level is a risk factor for CIN. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusion.