Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide combined of macular laser grid photocoagulation (IVTA/MLG) versus macular laser grid (MLG) photocoagulation only for treatment of diabetic macular edema. Methods A computerized search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, Embase Library, Pubmed, Chinese Biomedical Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database and Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals Database. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) on IVTA/MLG and MLG only for treatment of diabetic macular edema were selected. After the data extraction, quality of RCT was assessed. The meta analysis was performed by RevMan 5.1.The outcome measures included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the central foveal thickness (CMT). Results In total, six RCT that fulfilled the eligibility criteria were included in the metaanalysis involving 166 eyes in MLG group and 165 eyes in IVTA/MLG group. The results suggested that there was no significant differences in BCVA (Z=1.27,P=0.20), but differences were statistically significant comparing CMT (Z=2.41,P=0.02), incidence of ocular hypertension and cataract (Z=3.62,P＜0.01) between MLG and IVTA/MLG groups at the six month follow-up. Conclusions There is no significant advantage of IVTA/MLG as compared with MLG,but it could reduce CMT. However, a high-quality, large sample RCT should be further investigated.