OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the humanistic and economic burden of cancer-related venous thromboembolism (VTE). METHODS: A literature search was carried out on Pubmed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Econlit, Science Direct, JSTOR, Oxford Journals and Cambridge Journals. The search was limited to humanistic studies published from January 2000 to December 2012. Additional studies were also identified by searching reference lists of relevant published reviews and included studies. The identified studies were independently reviewed by two reviewers against pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A quality assessment of the selected studies was also conducted by using standard methods  . The data of selected studies were extracted onto a data extraction form and consequently synthesized.   RESULTS: Fifty five studies were included in our review. It was found that cancer patients experience between 2-fold and 20-fold higher risk of developing VTE in comparison to non-cancer patients. Cancer patients are more likely to experience a VTE event in the first 3 or 6 months after cancer diagnosis and the onset of chemotherapy. Additionally, an increased risk of VTE in patients with distant metastases and certain types of cancer (i.e. pancreatic or lung) was identified. VTE strongly affects the prognosis of cancer patients as it has been found that it is a leading cause of death in this group of patients. The annual average total cost for cancer patients with VTE was found to be almost 50% higher compared to that of cancer patients without VTE in the USA in 2002. Inpatient care costs accounted for more than 60% of total cost. CONCLUSIONS: Although the economic impact of the VTE in cancer patients as well as the impact of VTE on patients’ quality of life is not well studied, the present review demonstrate that there is a substantial humanistic and economic burden associated with VTE in cancer patients.