Objective To compare the efficacy of controlled stepwise decompression versus rapid standard large bone-flap decompression on the treatment of severe craniocerebral injury. Methods Relevant articles reporting the efficacy of controlled stepwise decompression versus rapid standard large bone-flap decompression on the treatment of severe craniocerebral injury published from the establishment of the database to November 2022 were searched in the PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Medical Network, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedicine Database (CBM) and VIP databases. Data were extracted from the eligible literatures for performing a meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4 software. Results A total of 23 eligible articles were included, involving 17 retrospective clinical controlled studies and 6 randomized controlled trials. Finally, 2141 patients with severe craniocerebral injury were included, involving 1080 patients managed by controlled stepwise decompression and 1061 managed by rapid standard large bone-flap decompression. Meta-analysis results showed that compared to those treated with rapid standard large bone flap decompression, controlled stepwise decompression provided an earlier time of decompression ( =-25.39, 95% : -30.96, -19.81; <0.01), less operation time ( =-21.49, 95% : -34.22, -8.76; <0.01), shorter length of stay ( =-3.02, 95% : -3.70, -2.34; <0.01), less intraoperative bleeding ( =-23.82, 95% : -32.42, -15.22; <0.01), lower intracranial pressure (ICP) on the first day after decompression ( =-4.58, 95% : -6.03, -3.13; <0.01), lower total incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications ( =0.18, 95% : 0.15, 0.23; <0.01), lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at 2 weeks postoperatively ( =1.94, 95% : 1.31, 2.56; <0.01) and higher rate of good prognosis with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score ≥4 ( =3.08, 95% : 2.15, 4.43; <0.01). Conclusion Compared to those of rapid standard large bone-flap decompression, controlled stepwise decompression has certain advantages in the time of decompression, operation time, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative length of stay, total incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications, and postoperative recovery. The controlled stepwise decompression is preferred to lower ICP in most cases of craniocerebral injury, which can be promoted and applied in clinical practice.