OBJECTIVE: Proper techniques used in procedures might play an important role in reducing ureteroileal anastomosis stricture (UIAS) for patients undergoing orthotopic neobladder. The present study was to evaluate the efficacy of internal double-J stent versus external ureteral catheter on UIAS for patients undergoing radical cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder. METHODS: A comprehensive search of the literature referring to the topic was performed on 10th January 2019 in PubMed, EMBASE and Google Scholar, by using key words as radical cystectomy, orthotopic neobladder, stricture, stenosis. The Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.3 software was employed for data analysis. The incidence of UIAS was evaluated as primary outcome. RESULTS: Five studies were included eventually. The incidence of UIAS was lower in the group of internal double-J stent than that in the group of external ureteral catheter (odds ratio [OR], 0.49; 95% CI, 0.25-0.97; p = 0.04) with a low heterogeneity (I(2) = 0%). Besides, internal double-J stent group had a trend of a shorter length of stay than external ureteral catheter group. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the present meta-analysis, internal double-J stent placement was associated with a lower incidence of UIAS than external ureteral catheter for patients undergoing orthotopic neobladder. In addition, a trend of a shorter hospital stay was also detected, thus, internal double-J stent placement may be favored in the view of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).