Objective To systematically review the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection among Chinese children and conduct a comprehensive epidemiological analysis.

Methods A total of 41 articles were screened and selected from VIP, PubMed, CNKI and Wanfang databases from January 2000 to December 2021. AHRQ score was performed on the articles, and Meta analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software.

Results A total of 41 literatures were included in this study, with a total sample size of 43 574 cases, among which 11 078 children were infected with Hp. Meta-analysis showed that the overall infection rate of Hp among Chinese children was 28.7% (95%CI: 0.246 ~ 0.330). Subgroup analysis showed that the infection rate of Hp was significantly different among different age groups (P ＜ 0.05), and the infection rate was9.70% (95%CI: 0.044 ~ 0.167) in 0 ~ 3 years old,13.3% (95%CI: 0.062 ~ 0.225)in 3 ~ 6 years old, and 28.7% (95%CI: 0.220 ~ 0.359)in 6 ~ 14 years old. There was no significant difference in Hp infection rate between urban and rural areas (P ＞ 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between Hp infection rate and family history of digestive tract disease (P ＜ 0.05). The infection rate with a history of digestive tract disease was 41% (95%CI: 0.234 ~ 0.599), and the infection rate among individuals without a history of gastrointestinal diseases was 18.7% (95%CI: 0.119–0.266).

Conclusions The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection among children is correlated with age, geographic region, general health status, and family history of infection. These findings highlight the need for proactive strategies to enhance early prevention and control of Hp infection in the pediatric population.