OBJECTIVES: Atopic dermatitis is a chronically relapsing inflammatory skin condition accompanied by pruritus which, when severe, can negatively impact a patient’s quality of life. The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of topical therapies compared against their vehicles, and systemic therapies compared against their placebos, and to record how these therapies changed the magnitude of pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis. METHODS: Data for this meta-analysis were extracted from Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register, as well as follow-up references in retrieved articles from years 1977 to 2011. Initial search of systemic therapies in relieving the pruritus of atopic dermatitis yielded 205 studies. Out of the 205 studies, 52 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 41 and 11 studies involving topical and systemic treatment of pruritus of atopic dermatitis, respectively. Standard inverse variance fixed-effects meta-analysis was used to calculate the pooled estimates for RCTs falling under each type of treatment. RESULTS: The 52 studies were analyzed using STATA SE version 10. Meta-analysis results showed that overall, compared to systemic medication of atopic dermatitis, the topical medications significantly reduced atopic pruritus by 35.3% (RR, 0.647; 95% CI, 0.619-0.677). Among the topical medications, compared to the use of vehicle, the use of anti-histamines, calcineurin inhibitors and topical corticosteroids as therapeutic agents significantly reduced the pruritus of atopic dermatitis by 27%, 36% and 34% in patients, respectively.   CONCLUSIONS: The topical treatments were more successful at reducing atopic pruritus compared to the systemic treatments. Overall, calcineurin inhibitors were the most effective antipruritic agents. Verifiable pruritus reduction should be included as a primary or secondary endpoint in future randomized clinical trials of investigative agents for atopic dermatitis.