ObjectiveTo systematically review the effectiveness of scalp acupuncture for treating ischemic stroke. MethodWe searched databases including PubMed, EMbase, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data from inception to December 30th 2014 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on scalp acupuncture in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed risk bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 27 studies involving 2 741 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:a) As for the improvement of nervous functional deficiency, the scalp acupuncture plus drug group was superior to the drug alone group (MD=-5.33, 95%CI -6.71 to -3.96, P<0.000 01), and the scalp acupuncture plus conventional therapy group was superior to the conventional therapy alone group (MD=-2.11, 95%CI -3.31 to -0.91, P=0.0006). b) As for the effective rate, the scalp acupuncture group was superior to the body acupuncture group (OR=0.28, 95%CI 0.15 to 0.53, P<0.000 01), the scalp acupuncture plus drug group was superior to the drug alone group (OR=0.20, 95%CI 0.14 to 0.29, P<0.000 01), and the scalp acupuncture plus conventional therapy group was superior to the conventional therapy alone group (OR=0.12, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.56, P=0.008). However, there was no significant difference between the scalp acupuncture group and the drug alone group (OR=0.16, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.97, P=0.05). ConclusionScalp acupuncture appears to be an effective adjuvant therapy method for ischemic stroke, and can significantly improve the nervous functional deficiency when combined with other treatment. However, the strength of evidence is low due to high risk of bias of the included studies. More rigorous studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.