BACKGROUND:Uncertainties still remain in terms of what kinds of patients benefit most from cilostazol-based triple antiplatelet therapy (TAT) after coronary stenting. METHODS:We performed a meta-analysis of all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to investigate the effect of TAT versus dual antiplatelet therapy (DAT) in terms of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients undergoing coronary stenting. RESULTS:Fourteen RCTs with 5,821 patients were included in this study. TAT was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of MACEs compared to DAT [9.2 vs. 13.4%; odds ratio 0.59 (0.46, 0.76)] with consistent benefits among patients with diabetes, long lesions and small vessels. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis and bleeding events; however, the risk of target lesion revascularization was significantly lower in the TAT group. TAT resulted in borderline significant reduction in the risk of cardiovascular thrombotic events in unselected patients and significant decrease in patients with acute coronary syndrome [odds ratio 0.51 (0.27, 0.94)]. CONCLUSION:Under the treatment of standard DAT, the addition of cilostazol is an effective and relatively safe strategy in preventing MACEs after coronary stenting, especially for patients at high risk of restenosis or clinical events.