Objective To assess the efficacy and toxicity of the maintenance radiotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods We searched MEDLINE (1950 to 2009), EMbase (1966 to 2009), The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2009), CBMdisc (1978 to 2009), CNKI (1979 to 2009), VIP (1989 to 2009) and relevant internet websites to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of maintenance radiotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer. The quality of the included trials was assessed by Cochrane Systematic Review Handbook. Meta-analyses were conducted by RevMan 5.0 and SPSS 10.0 software. Results A total of 5 RCTs involving 529 patients were identified. The result of meta-analyses showed that the whole-abdominal radiation increased the 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) at RR1.76 and 95%CI 1.13 to 2.73, while it showed no effect on the 5-year overall survival (OS) at RR1.30 and 95%CI 0.96 to 1.76. The main adverse reactions of maintenance radiotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer included diarrhea and abdominal pains, whose severity was related to radiation dose. Conclusion The whole-abdominal radiation can increase the 5-year PFS while its effect on the 5-year OS needs to be further studied.