Objective To study the expression and clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) in chinese patients with bladder cancer. Methods The relevant original articles published in journals from 1998 to 2014 were selected. The ratio of the case group and the control group (OR value) regarded as an effect index. Then the original data were analyzed using Meta analysis software RevMan 5.0, the combined OR values and 95%confidence interval were calculated, and the forest map was draw. Results 13 studies involving 692 patients that met the inclusion criteria were included in the Meta analysis. The OR values of bladder cancer tissue group and normal bladder tissue group, superficial bladder cancer group and invasive bladder cancer group, and low grade bladder cancer group and senior bladder cancer group were 45.83, 0.22 and 0.31, respectively. The positive rates of MMP-2 in bladder cancer tissue group, invasive bladder cancer group and advanced bladder cancer group were significantly higher than those in normal bladder tissue group, superficial bladder cancer group and low grade bladder cancer group (all P< 0.05). Conclusions The high expression of MMP-2 has a certain effect in bladder cancer. The detection of MMP-2 contributes to the understanding of the biology of bladder cancer, and provides information for clinical treatment and prognosis.