ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and/or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) in the treatment of patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF). MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 11, 2014), CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM were electronically searched from inception to November 2014 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ACEI/ARB for DHF patients. References of included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 22 RCTs involving 9 557 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis indicated that, compared with the control group, the ACEI/ARB group had significant improvements in exercise capacity (6-minute walk distance:SMD=0.02, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.38, P=0.01; Exercise time:MD=40.58, 95% CI 14.06 to 67.10, P=0.003) and diastolic function (E/A ratio:MD=0.20, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.31, P=0.000 4; E/E' ratio:MD=-1.69, 95% CI -2.11 to -1.27, P<0.000 01). In addition, compared with the control treatment, ACEI/ARB could significantly decrease the serum BNP level (SMD=-0.44, 95% CI -0.72 to -0.16, P=0.002) and NT-proBNP level (SMD=-0.68, 95% CI -1.24 to -0.12, P=0.02). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that ACEI/ARB can improve the exercise capacity and diastolic function, and reduce the levels of serum BNP and NT-proBNP in DHF patients. Due to the limited quality of the included studies and discrepancies in the diagnostic criteria of DHF, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.