ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of escitalopram in the prevention of post-stroke depression (PSD).MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, CBM, WanFang Data, VIP and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on escitalopram in preventing PSD from inception to March 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 6 RCTs involving 891 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: compared with the control group, the escitalopram group could reduce the incidence of PSD (RR=0.55, 95%CI 0.31 to 0.98, P=0.04). In addition, there was no statistical difference between escitalopram group and control group in rate of adverse events (P≥0.05).ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that escitalopram can reduce the incidence of PSD without increasing the incidence of adverse reactions. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.