Objective  To explore influencing factors of death anxiety among elderly residents in China using meta-analysis method.

  Methods  The seven electronic databases (PubMed, Web Of Science, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure CNKI, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database CBM, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals VIP and Wan Fang Database) were searched for studies reporting influencing factors of death anxiety among the elderly in China published in Chinese or English till August 2018. The included studies were analyzed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.1 software.

  Results  A total of 14 studies with 4 969 participants were included. The analysis identified following correlates of death anxiety among Chinese elderly people: education (standardized mean difference SMD = 0.12, 95% confidence interval 95% CI: 0.03, 0.21), discussion about death issues among family members (SMD = – 0.63, 95% CI: – 1.00 – – 0.26), whether suffering from chronic illnesses (SMD = – 0.47, 95% CI: – 0.71 – – 0.23), and pattern of elderly care received (home-based or in pension institution) (SMD = – 0.80, 95% CI: – 1.56 – – 0.03). There may be a publication bias for studies on the influences of discussion about death issues among family members on death anxiety.

  Conclusion  For the elderly in China, those with following characteristics are at a higher level of death anxiety: with the education of primary school or lower, never having or having an unpleasant discussion on death issues with family members, suffering from a chronic disease, or under home-based elderly care.