BACKGROUND As the C-terminal section of vasopressin precursor, copeptin has been recently suggested as a new prognostic biomarker after heart failure (HF). Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of plasma copeptin level with all-cause mortality in patients with HF. METHODS Comprehensive strategies were used to search relevant studies from electronic databases. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and standardized mean differences (SMDs) together with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to find the potential sources of heterogeneity. RESULTS A total of 5,989 participants from 17 prospective studies were included in this meta-analysis. A significant association was observed between circulating copeptin levels and risk of all-cause mortality in patients with HF (categorical copeptin: HR =1.69, 95% CI =1.42-2.01; per unit copeptin: HR =1.03, 95% CI =1.00-1.07; log unit copeptin: HR =3.26, 95% CI =0.95-11.25). Pooled SMD showed that copeptin levels were significantly higher in patients with HF who died during the follow-up period than in survivors (SMD =1.19, 95% CI =0.81-1.57). Subgroup analyses also confirmed this significant association, while sensitivity analyses indicated that the overall results were stable. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that circulating copeptin seemed to be a novel biomarker to provide better prediction of all-cause mortality in patients with HF.