OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic literature review is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of robot-assisted surgery (RAS) and conventional laparoscopic rectal surgery (CLS) for rectal cancer. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of available literature. Three international databases (OvidMedline, Ovid EMBASE, Cochrane Central Rgister of Controlled Trials) and six Korean databases were used in searching for existing literature. The PICO and the search strategy were determined through consultation with a methodologist and a clinician. 1,664 studies were found at first. The final selection was made after removing duplicates and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria established beforehand. The Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) was used for randomized clinical trial and the Methodological index for non-randomized (MINORS) for observational (cohort and case-control) studies were utilized for evaluating the quality of literature. RESULTS: