Objective To systematically assess the risk factors for emergence agitation in adults.Methods The published literatures concerning risk factors for emergence agitation from January 2010 to January 2020 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP database, Wanfang database, CBM, The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, web of science. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, Review Manager 5.3 software was used for Meta analysis of the included literature.Results A total of 12 studies, contained 3 foreign and 7 domestic literatures, 1,520 case studies and 13,800 patients, were included. Meta-analysis showed that the major risk factors for emergence agitation in patients undergoing general anesthesia were males [R = 1.57, (95% CI: 1.17, 2.10)], ASA Class (III-IV) [R =2.39, (95% CI: 1.80, 3.17)], history of smoking [R = 1.87, (95% CI: 1.23, 2.84)], alcohol abuse [R = 2.34, (95% CI: 1.79, 3.05)], diabetes mellitus [R = 1.63, (95% CI: 1.02, 2.59)], long duration of surgery [R = 22.78, (95% CI: 5.64, 39.92)], post-operative urinary intubation [R = 8.27, (95% CI: 2.89, 23.65)], insufficient analgesia [R = 6.26, (95% CI: 1.59, 24.66)], use of stimulants [R = 1.85, (95% CI: 1.08, 3.16)], and intravenous-inhalation anesthesia [R = 2.26, （95% CI: 1.34, 3.82)].Conclusion Males, ASA Class (III-IV), history of smoking and alcohol abuse, diabetes mellitus, long duration of surgery, postoperative urinary intubation, insufficient analgesia, use of stimulants, and intravenous-inhalation anesthesia are independent risk factors for emergence agitation. In clinical practice, preventive measures should be taken to reduce the incidence of emergence agitation for patients with risk factors.