Meningitis is a potential complication of elective intracranial surgery (EIS). The prevalence of meningitis after EIS varies greatly in the literature. The objective of this study was to estimate the overall pooled prevalence of meningitis following EIS. Four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase) were searched to identify relevant studies. Meta-analyses of proportions were used to combine data. Cochran'sQandI2statistics were used to assess and quantify heterogeneity. Additionally, several subgroup analyses were conducted to investigate the source of heterogeneity and examine differences in the prevalence based on variables such as geographical regions, income level, and meningitis type. The meta-analysis included 83 studies (30 959 patients) from 26 countries. The overall pooled prevalence of meningitis after EIS was 1.6% (95% CI 1.1–2.1), with high heterogeneity present (I2= 88%). The pooled prevalence in low- to middle-income countries and high-income countries was 2.7% (95% CI 1.6–4.1) and 1.2% (95% CI 0.8–1.7), respectively. Studies that reported only aseptic meningitis had a pooled prevalence of 3.2% (95% CI 1.3–5.8). The pooled prevalence was 2.8% (95% CI 1.5–4.5) in studies that reported only bacterial meningitis. Similar prevalence rates of meningitis were observed in the subgroups of tumor resection, microvascular decompression, and aneurysm clipping. Meningitis is a rare but not exceptional complication following EIS, with an estimated prevalence of 1.6%.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40001-023-01141-3.