ObjectiveTo systematically review the effect of self-management intervention on the prevention and management of lymphedema in breast cancer patients. MethodsThe Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SinoMed, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect studies on self-management intervention on the prevention and management of lymphedema in breast cancer patients, from inception to June 16. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. ResultsA total of 37 references were included, comprising 25 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 12 controlled clinical trials (CCTs), and a total of 3 697 patients. There were 26 studies in the meta-analysis, and the results of the meta-analysis showed that, compared with the control group, patients in the intervention group exhibited better performance in lymphedema management-related behaviors (SMD=2.65, 95%CI 1.53 to 3.78, P<0.01), symptoms related to lymphedema (SMD=−2.01, 95%CI −3.66 to −0.37, P<0.05), occurrence of lymphedema (RR=0.37, 95%CI 0.32 to 0.45, P<0.01), upper limb function (SMD=−1.88, 95%CI −2.83 to −0.92, P<0.01), quality of life (SMD=2.79, 95%CI 2.05 to 3.54, P<0.01), and the difference was statistically significant. The intervention mainly included information support, material support, emotional support and decision support. ConclusionThere are currently a variety of self-management interventions, but they mainly focus on information support. Self-management interventions can improve the self-management behavior of breast cancer patients with lymphedema and reduce the impact of lymphedema on patients.