OBJECTIVES: Every day healthcare decision-makers on the national, regional and local level face the challenge of making complex funding decisions. The complexity in drug funding decisions comes from balancing quantitative criteria such as clinical evidence and qualitative criteria such as personal experience of decision-makers. This systematic literature review reflects the research status on applied criteria in drug funding decisions. METHODS: Relevant literature has been identified by using a systematic database search process as described by Tranfield, Denyer & Smart (2003) via EBSCO and Science Direct. Topic relevant search terms were applied which resulted in 412 papers. Detailed screening of the paper abstracts with application of inclusion criteria reduced the number of relevant papers down to 20. Following this, information from those 20 papers has been analysed and compared to practitioner experience. RESULTS: The most discussed criteria with influence on drug funding decisions were the importance and use of economic evaluations and the importance of political and social factors for the decision process. Both topics were discussed in six studies (30% each). More than half of the studies (14 out of 20) showed evidence that drug funding decisions are decided not only by quantitative criteria, but also decided by qualitative criteria. Another finding was a geographical research prioritization. The most discussed country in the relevant studies was the UK (23%) followed by Canada (15%), the Netherlands (13%), Australia, France and the USA (each 10%). CONCLUSIONS: Relevant research literature shows the existence of quantitative criteria influencing drug funding decision-making but also the use of qualitative criteria seems to be proved. Although this is seldom documented publicly, qualitative criteria are shown to have an impact on drug funding decisions. Further research work is necessary to extend knowledge about the impact of qualitative criteria in drug funding decision-making.