Objective To systematically review the influence of tight heart rate (HR) control on the efficacy of perioperative β-blockade, and discuss the effective measures of perioperative myocardial protection. Methods We searched the PubMed, OVID, EMbase, the Cochrane Library and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) for randomized controlled trials on evaluating perioperative β-blockers after noncardiac surgery. The quality of the included studies was evaluated by the method recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. Meta-analyses was conducted by using the Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan software. Results Thirteen RCTs including 11 590 patients were included. The combined results of all studies showed cardioprotective effect of β-blockers (OR=0.64, 95%CI 0.50 to 0.80, P=0.000 1), with considerable heterogeneity among the studies (I2=57%). However, grouping the trials on the basis of maximal HR showed that trials where the estimated maximal HR was 100 bpm were associated with cardioprotection (OR=0.37, 95%CI 0.26 to 0.52, Plt;0.000 01) whereas trials where the estimated maximal HR was 100 bpm did not demonstrate cardioprotection (OR=1.13, 95%CI 0.81 to 1.59, P=0.48) with no heterogeneity (I2=0%). Conclusion The evidence suggests that effective control of HR is important for achieving cardioprotection and that administration of β-blockers does not reliably decrease HRs in all patients. Judicious use of combination therapy with other drugs may be necessary to achieve effective postoperative control of HR.