Arterial hypertension during childhood or adolescence is rising, and smoking during pregnancy may constitute a modifiable risk factor. This study aims to evaluate the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on diastolic (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in childhood and adolescence. A bibliographic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL databases in March 2022. Meta-analysis was performed with the difference in mean-adjusted SBP/DBP of children and adolescents aged 3–17 years, according to maternal smoking/non-smoking in pregnancy. A random effects model was applied; a leave-one-out analysis and meta-analysis by subgroups were performed. A modified Newcastle–Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of the studies. Evidence levels were rated using the GRADE system. Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis; all of them evaluated the mean-adjusted SBP difference in children or adolescents (N= 73,448), and 6 also that of DBP (N= 31,459). Results showed that maternal smoking during pregnancy significantly increased SBP (β= 0.31 mmHg 95% CI 0.14–0.49). A greater increase in mean-adjusted SBP was observed in those studies that completed the recruitment before 1990, were conducted in non-European countries, used standard mercury or manual sphygmomanometry, adjusted for birth weight, and were in the lowest quality subgroup. No significant association was found for DBP. The GRADE level of evidence was low for SBP and very low for DBP.Conclusion: Smoking in pregnancy might increase SBP in childhood and adolescence. Due to the low level of evidence, solid inferences cannot be drawn about the clinical relevance of these findings.What is Known:• AHT is the leading cause of premature death among adults worldwide.• Deleterious effects derived from SHS exposure on children's health have been documented since early 1970.To date, there are contradictory results about the effects of prenatal SHS exposure on children’s BP.What is New:• Smoking in pregnancy may increase SBP during childhood and adolescence.• Maternal smoking during pregnancy could have greater influence on their offspring's SBP than on DBP.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00431-023-04836-1.