Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative prewarming for maintenance of intraoperative core body temperature, so as to provide clinical evidence for perioperative temperature management. Methods We retrieved PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, EMBACE, CINAHL, CNKI, Wanfang Database, CQVIP and China Biology Medicine disc, so as to comprehensively search randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about preoperative prewarming for maintenance of intraoperative core body temperature. The retrieval time was limited from January 2000 to April 2019 and the references of the included trials were also reviewed. Two researchers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, evaluated the quality of the included literature, and extracted data. RevMan 5.3 software was adopted to perform Meta‑analysis. Results Fourteen RCTs involving a total of 902 patients were included. The results of Meta‑analysis indicated that the preoperative prewarming group presented a remarkably increased core body temperature 30 min, 60 min, and 90 min after anesthesia induction and at the end of operation, as well as a markedly decreased incidence of intraoperative hypothermia and postoperative hypothermia, compared with the control group (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative shivering between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions Preoperative prewarming can effectively increaese intraoperative core body temperature and reduce the incidence of hypothermia.