This study aims to systematically evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and pulmonary function through meta-analysis. Electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were systematically searched to obtain articles associated with MS and lung function published before December 31, 2021. According to the including and excluding criteria, certain studies were obtained and data were extracted. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. A pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated by means of random-effects meta-analysis. Different effect models were used according to the heterogeneity. Meta-regression and sensitivity analyses were performed to examine the possible sources of heterogeneity. The Begg's funnel plot and Egger's test were used to evaluate publication bias. Analyses were performed using Stata MP, version14.0 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA). A total of 15 studies, involving 10,285 cases of MS and 25,416 cases of control, were included in this meta-analysis on the relationship between MS and forced vital capacity (FVC). The pooled SMD for FVC was -0.247 (95% CI = -0.327 to -0.2167,  < 0.001) using random effect model, indicating the decrease of FVC in the patients with MS. In the same studies, the pooled SMD for forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV) was -0.205 (95% CI = -0.3278 to -0.133,  < 0.001), indicating the decrease of FEV also existed in the MS cases. A total of 13 studies, involving 8167 cases of MS and 19,788 cases of control, were included in this meta-analysis on the relationship between MS and FEV/FVC. The pooled SMD for FEV/FVC was 0.011 (95% CI = -0.072 to 0.093,  = 0.798) using random effect model, indicating that there was no significant difference between the patients with MS and the control. After introducing the diastolic blood pressure and glycemia into the regression model of the relationship between MS and FVC, the variance of the studies (tau2) decreased from 0.0190 to 0.006694 and 0.007205, which could explain 66.70% and 78.04% of the sources of heterogeneity, and the values were 0.038 and 0.023. The results suggested that hypertension (diastolic pressure) and hyperglycemia were the factors linked to the heterogeneity among the included studies on both FVC and FEV. The Begg's funnel plot and Egger's test both showed no evidence of publication bias. Our results show that FVC and FEV decrease in MS patients, while FEV/FVC has no significant difference compared with the control group. It indicates that the patients with MS have restrictive ventilatory functional disturbance. Meta-regression analysis suggests that hypertension (diastolic pressure) and hyperglycemia are the factors linked to the heterogeneity among the included studies on both FVC and FEV.