OBJECTIVES: Helicobacter pylori (HP) is prime cause of the upper gastrointestinal (UGI) diseases, including certain cancers. The standard triple therapy (TT) (one proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and two antibiotics) is available for the eradication of H. pylori but due to the increased adverse drug reactions (ADRs), poor compliance, and growing antibiotic resistant, simple dual therapy (DT) (one PPI and one antibiotic) was introduced. But there is a conflict regarding the use of dual vs TT. Present meta-analysis is aimed at exploring effectiveness of dual versus TT for eradication of HP. METHODS: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing effectiveness of DT vs TT in confirmed HP positive cases with minimum of 4 week post-treatment follow-up results were included. Literature search was done using appropriate MeSH terms. Full text articles published in English having complete data were included. Effect estimate was presented as risk ratio (Rr). Assessment of heterogeneity was done using Cochran Q and I tests. We pooled effectiveness and ADRs using random effect model. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis was also performed. RESULTS: Seven RCTs including 2110 HP positive patients were included in final analysis. Significant heterogeneity was observed for effectiveness (Cochran Q, P - < 0.012, I > 50%) and ADRs (Cochran Q, P- <0.095, I > 50%). No significant publication bias was observed. TT was more effective (RR 0.69 (95% CI, 0.63-0.76)) than DT. TT was also well tolerated (RR, 0.80 (95% CI, 0.41-1.54)) in comparison to DT. Results were not sensitive to various subgroup and sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSIONS: TT is found to be more effective and safe in comparison to DT for eradication of Helicobacter pylori.