Objective To evaluate the efficacy of amifostine in diminishing the incidence of radiation‐induced pneumonitis in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)by using the meta‐analysis.Methods Medline ,Embase ,Cenfang ,CNKI , CBM ,Wanfang ,ASCO ,and ESMO databases were searched for randomized controlled trials(RCTs)on use of amifostine during radiotherapy for NSCLC and the papers were published before February 2015.Meta‐analysis was used to evaluate the efficacy of amifostine in decreasing the incidence of radiation‐induced pneumonitis.Results A total of 8 RCTs were identified with 394 ca‐ses in amfostine group and 402 in control group.The pooled relative risk(RR)of developing radiation‐induced pneumonitis(grade≥3)was 0.50(95% CI:0.37 -0.69 ,Z=4.33 ,P<0.01)in amfostine group when compared with control group.Conclusion Amifostine can significantly decrease the risk of developing radiation‐induced pneumonitis in NSCLC patients treated by radio‐therapy.