To evaluate whether postoperative exercise training is effective in improving clinical outcomes such as the quality of life (QoL), exercise capacity and respiratory function of patients receiving pulmonary resection. The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and PEDro electronic databases were comprehensively searched to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed. The primary outcome was postoperative QoL and secondary outcomes were exercise capacity and respiratory function. A total of eight studies involving 691 participants were enrolled in this systematic review and meta-analysis. For the postoperative QoL measured by 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the pooled results demonstrated that postoperative exercise training could significantly improve the SF-36 physical domain score [weighted mean difference (WMD) = 5.87, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.96 to 7.78, P＜0.001] and SF-36 mental domain score (WMD = 8.15, 95% CI: 0.13 to 16.16, P = 0.05). The results of further analysis for the eight dimensions of SF-36 were similar to the overall results. However, for secondary outcomes, no significant effects of postoperative exercise training on exercise capacity and respiratory function were observed. Postoperative exercise training could significantly improve the QoL of patients undergoing lung surgery. However, more RCTs with large samples are still needed to verify the effects of postoperative exercise rehabilitation on clinical outcomes of patients who receive pulmonary resection.