Fifteen eligible studies (a total of 2283 cases) which ranged from 2001 to 2017 included patients with colorectal cancer of TNM stage I-IV (Dukes stage A-D) that were accepted surgery and/or chemotherapy. Among the fifteen studies, twelve studies showed positive results of the relationships between elevated D-dimer and overall survival of colorectal cancer, and three studies obtained negative results. The combined HR of the fifteen eligible studies was 2.167 (95% CI = 1.672–2.809, P < 0.001, Figure 2) by a random effect model due to obvious heterogeneity (I2 = 73.3%, P < 0.001).