Objective To systematically review the effectiveness and safety of Zhibitai vs. atorvastatin in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Zhibitai vs. atorvastatin for hyperlipidemia were electronically retrieved in databases of PubMed, CENTRAL (Issue 7, 2010), CBM,CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data from inception to July, 2012. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality. Then, meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. Results A total of 4 RCTs involving 519 cases were included. The results of meta-analysis showed, Zhibitai was superior to atorvastatin in reducing TG levels after 8-week treatment (MD= ?0.12, 95%CI ?0.23 to ?0.01, P=0.03) and increasing HDL-C levels after 8-week treatment (MD= ?0.16, 95%CI ?0.22 to ?0.11, P=0.000 01). But there was no significant difference in decreasing TC levels and LDL-C levels after 4-week treatment and 8-week treatment as well as decreasing TG levels after 4-week treatment between the two groups. No obvious adverse reaction occurred in the two groups, but atorvastatin may impair liver function. Conclusion Current evidence with weak strength shows that, Zhibitai is superior to atorvastatin in reducing TG levels, and increasing HDL-C levels after 8 weeks. However, they are alike in other blood-fat index and safety. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality RCTs are needed to verify the above conclusion.