Objective To evaluate the effects of inhalation combined intravenous antibiotics for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Methods A computerized search was performed through Cochrane library, Joanna Briggs Institute Library, PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, CBM, CNKI and Wangfang medical network about inhalation combined intravenous antibiotics therapy in ventilator-associated pneumonia in the literatures. The data extracting and quality assessment were performed by three researchers. The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software. Results Thirteen studies was included for analysis. The results showed that the cure rate was higher in the experimental group compared with the control group with significant difference (RR=1.16, 95%CI 1.07 to 1.56,P=0.000 5). There were no significant differences in the mortality (RR=1.04, 95%CI 0.82 to 1.32,P=0.74) or the incidence of kidney damage (RR=0.79, 95%CI 0.51 to 1.22,P=0.29). The difference in pathogenic bacteria removal was statistically significant (RR=1.38, 95%CI 1.09 to 1.74,P=0.007). The negative conversion rate of respiratory secretions was higher in the experimental group. Conclusion Inhalation combined intravenous antibiotics can improve the cure rate of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, clear pathogenic bacteria effectively, and is worthy of recommendation for clinical use.