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INTRODUCTION to evaluate the effects of acellular nerve grafts (ANGs) with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) or Schwann cells (SCs) on the treatment of sciatic nerve defect in rats. EVIDENCEACQUISITION Electronic databases were accessed to identify eligible targets. ANGs data were extracted for meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.3. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS The rats subjected to ANGs+BMSCs or ANGs+SCs are characterized by different sciatic nerve function index, nerve conduction, latency, amplitude, myelin sheath thickness, myelinated nerve fibers and gastrocnemius wet weight. Accompanied with evidently superior recovery of limb function. These differences are of statistical significance (P < 0.05) when compared to that of control group with ANGs only. CONCLUSIONS ANGs with BMSCs or SCs can promote nerve regeneration and functional recovery in peripheral nerve defects.