Human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) is closely involved in tumor progression and is an important target of therapy. To evaluate the prognostic significance of HER3 in malignant solid tumors, we searched the PUBMED, EMBASE and CNKI databases for relevant studies written in English or Chinese up to December 2015. Fifteen studies comprising 2964 patients were identified. The HER3 rate ranged from 9.0-75.1 % in malignant solid tumors: 30.3-75.1 % in breast cancers, 51.1-74.5 % in colorectal cancers, 13.7-59.0 % in gastric cancers, and 54.5-74.4 % in cervical cancers. For patients with a malignant solid tumor, the death risk was higher for those with a HER3 tumor than for those with a HER3 tumor (HR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.27 - 2.02, < 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed this was also the case for patients with digestive or gastric cancer (HR 1.78, < 0.001; HR 2.18, < 0.001). By contrast, HER3 had no prognostic significance in colorectal or breast cancer (HR 1.52, = 0.296; HR 1.23, = 0.108). HER3 is thus associated with poor survival in overall and in gastric cancer. The prognostic significance of HER3 in other tumors is uncertain and deserves further study.