Abstract： Objective To investigate the effects of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on survival of adult from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Method We searched Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science databases to find relevant literatues on ECMO in treatment of ARDS, which are reported from January 1966 to June 2010. Meta analyses was performed. Results Three papers about randomized controlled trial (RCT) of evaluating ECMO in patients with severe ARDS were enrolled for analyses. Meta-analysis of the three randomized controlled trials revealed ECMO did not decrease the mortality of ARDS patients. However, the cumulative meta-analysis of randomized trials showed ECMO had a protective effect on patients with ARDS. The most recent observational studies suggested that ECMO significantly decreased the mortality of ARDS caused by H1 N1 viral pneumonia. Conclusions There is no evidence to prove the benefit of ECMO in patients with ARDS. However, ECMO should be considered to use in early stage of ARDS as a last rescue resort for potentially reversible severe acute respiratory failure. Further investigation of large sample of high quality RCTs is needed.