ObjectivesTo systematically review the direct medical cost and burden of lung cancer in Chinese population.MethodsDatabases such as PubMed, Scopus, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were searched for studies investigating cost or burden of lung cancer in Chinese population from inception to September, 2017. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, two researchers screened literature, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality of included studies according to methods from Molinier, LA. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the direct medical cost in conjunction with its composition and other aspects including various costs of different therapeutic regimens and temporal trends.ResultsA total of 42 studies were included. The direct medical cost per person per year varied from 55 295 yuan to 77 431 yuan. In addition, the direct medical cost for hospitalization ranged from 8 582 yuan to 65 562 yuan. The cost of drug accounted for the largest part. Costs showed differences in diverse treatment regimens and time periods.ConclusionsHigh quality studies on direct medical cost of lung cancer in China are rare. The direct medical burden of lung cancer in China is seriously high. As a consequence, control work is urgently required. Numerous factors including sample size, region, methods for dealing with data and value sets could influence the measurement results of cost. Future research could set focus on analysis based on time dimension, cost of target drug as well as the adverse effects caused by medication.