AimThe aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of afatinib in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis based on meta-analysis.MethodsRelated literatures were searched in the following databases: EMbase, PubMed, China Knowledge Network (CNKI), Wanfang, Weipu, Google Scholar, the China Biomedical Literature Service System, and other databases. Clinical trials and observational studies that met the requirements were selected for meta-analysis using Revman 5.3. The hazard ratio (HR) was used as an indicator of the impact of afatinib.ResultsA total of 142 related literatures were acquired, but after screening, five literatures were selected for data extraction. The following indices were compared: the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and common adverse reactions (ARs) of grade 3 and above. A total of 448 patients with brain metastases were included and were divided into two groups: the control group (no afatinib treatment, with chemotherapy alone and the first-generation EGFR-TKIs) and the afatinib group. The results showed that afatinib could improve PFS (HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.39–0.85,P< 0.05) and ORR (OR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.45–2.57,P< 0.05), but had no benefit on OS (HR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.15–8.75,P> 0.05) and DCR (OR = 2.87, 95% CI: 0.97–8.48,P> 0.05). For the safety of afatinib, the incidence of grade-3-and-above ARs was low (HR: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00–0.02,P< 0.05).ConclusionAfatinib improves the survival of NSCLC patients with brain metastases and shows satisfactory safety.