ObjectiveTo systematically review the risk factors of related infections on the totally implantable venous access device (TIVAD) in adult.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, CBM, WanFang Data, CNKI and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect case-control studies and cohort studies about the risk factors of TIVAD-related infections in adult from inception to April 2017. 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 one case-control study and 12 retrospective cohort studies involving 9 166 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: longer catheter utilization-days in the previous months (RR=1.06, 95%CI 1.02 to 1.10, P=0.001), inpatient treatment (RR=2.53, 95%CI 1.68 to 3.81, P<0.000 01), palliative care (RR=2.71, 95%CI 1.77 to 4.15,P<0.000 01), parenteral nutrition (RR=3.89, 95%CI 2.37 to 6.40,P<0.000 01), neutropenia (RR=2.20, 95%CI 1.30 to 3.72,P=0.003) and haematological malignancies (RR=3.54, 95%CI 2.03 to 6.17, P<0.000 01) were associated with increased risk of TIVAD-related infections in adult.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that the risk factors of TIVAD-related infections include catheter utilization-days in the previous months, inpatient, palliative care, parenteral nutrition, neutropenia and hematological malignancies. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify conclusion.