ObjectiveTo systematically review the teaching effects of Seminar teaching model versus lecture-based learning (LBL) teaching model on clinical medical students in China.MethodsPubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Internet, WanFang Data and VIP database were electronically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Seminar versus LBL applied in clinical medical students in China, from the establishment of database to October 2017. The Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software.ResultsA total of 12 RCTs with 741 students were enrolled, including 380 in Seminar teaching group and 361 in LBL teaching group. The results of Meta-analysis demonstrated that the basic theory score [standard mean difference (SMD)=1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.72, 1.62), P<0.000 01], the clinical skill score [SMD=1.33, 95%CI (0.82, 1.83), P<0.000 01], the classroom atmosphere score ［SMD=1.51, 95%CI (1.13, 1.90), P<0.000 01］, the team score [SMD=0.86, 95%CI (0.50, 1.22), P<0.000 01], and the autonomous learning ability score [SMD=2.25, 95%CI (0.31, 4.18), P=0.02] of Seminar teaching group were superior to those in the LBL teaching group.ConclusionThe Seminar teaching model is superior to the LBL teaching model in clinical medical students.