AIM: To compare the outcomes between early surgery and late surgery for intermittent exotropia (IXT) with a Meta-analysis. METHODS: Scientific databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched prior to December 16, 2019. From this broad database search, we performed some Meta-analysis including eleven independent studies, to further evaluate the outcome(s) when comparing early versus late surgery for IXT. The boundaries between early and late surgery and the surgery methods were not inconsistent, so subgroup analyses were conducted by different boundaries of age at surgery and different surgical approaches. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated according to the random-effects model for high heterogeneity between studies. RESULTS: Eleven retrospective studies were included in this Meta-analysis. No significant difference between early and late surgery was observed for IXT patients (ORFirst follow-up= 0.88, 95%CI 0.53-1.44, P=0.61; ORFinal follow-up=1.48, 95%CI 0.94-2.31, P=0.09). However, sensitivity analysis performed by sequentially omitting individual studies showed that the final follow-up result was not stable. Subgroup analyses revealed that an earlier surgical procedure could lead to a better outcome in the 4-year boundary subgroup as well as the bilateral lateral rectus recession (BLR) subgroup for the final follow-up (OR4y=2.64, 95%CI 1.57-4.44, P=0.00; ORBLR=2.25, 95%CI 1.36-3.74, P=0.00). CONCLUSION: Early surgery for IXT provides a better long term follow-up outcome when patients are younger than 4 years old or choose the BLR surgical method.