Background and objective: Surgical site infections (SSIs) become a key indicator of quality of care. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect of goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) on the risk of SSIs after abdominal surgery. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), from inception to May 2016 that compared the incidence of SSIs in abdominal surgical patients with or without GDFT treatment.. Data were pooled and risk ratio (RR) as well as weighted mean differences (WMD) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated using either fixed or random effects models, depending on heterogeneity (I-2). Results: A total of 29 eligible RCTs with 5317 patients were included in this analysis. GDFT significantly reduced the incidence of SSIs after abdominal surgery. The pooled RR was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.63 to 0.86) with low heterogeneity (I-2 = 4%). Length of hospital stay was significantly reduced in the GDFT group (WMD: -1.16 days, 95% CI: -1.92 to -0.40, p = 0.003; I-2 = 81%). Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that perioperative GDFT is associated with a reduction in the incidence of SSIs after abdominal surgery. (C) 2017 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.