PURPOSE: To compare the effect of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and standard oxygen therapy on treating acute lung injury (ALI). METHODS: A search on PubMed, Embase, Springer, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Clinical Trials was carried out up to Nov 2015 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with NIV as cases and standard oxygen therapy as controls. Risk ratios and weight mean difference were used for estimation. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included seventeen RCTs. Results showed NIV significantly reduced the intubation rate, length of ICU stay and hospital mortality. The length of hospital stay and ICU mortality were not different. High heterogeneity was found across the studies of intubation rate. The types of acute respiratory failure might be a source of heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that NIV is effective for ALI in reducing the intubation rate, hospital mortality and length of ICU stay than the standard oxygen therapy.

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