BackgroundCampylobacterregarded as a major cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence ofcampylobacterin food, animal and human samples of Iran.ResultsQuantitative synthesis was performed from 119 articles. White meat had the highest pooled prevalence ofCampylobacterspp. (43.9%). Pooled prevalence of 7.9% and 5.5% forCampylobacter, respectively, were determined for red meat and eggs from Iran.Campylobacterwas seen in 14.9% of environmental samples and 8.4% of human samples. In most of the samplesC. jejunihad higher frequency thanC. coli.Most of the isolatedCampylobacterharbored several of the known virulence related genes of this pathogen.ConclusionChicken was identified as theCampylobacterreservoir. As such preventive strategies in all stages of poultry production until consumption are necessary to control foodborne human infection with Campylobacter in Iran.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-023-02879-w.