Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis. Methods We searched CBM (November 1979 to February 2006), Chinese Cochrane Centre Database (2005), The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2005), MEDLINE (November 1966 to February 2006) and EMBASE (1975 to February 2006) for randomize controlled trials. Data were extracted and analyzed using The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2.7. Results Nine randomize controlled trials involving 512 patients met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed that the total clinical effective rate and complete remission rate were not significantly higher for MMF than for cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or both. Renal survival rate and relapse rate of MMF were not significantly different from those for cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or both. Patient survival rate and safety of MMF were significantly improved compared with cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or both. Conclusion More large-scale multi-center randomized trials are needed to investigate the role of MMF in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis.