Objective: Using meta-analysis to determin the effect of watching humorous videos on
reducing anxiety and to analyze the limitations of existing studies to identify breakthroughs for future
research. Methods: Reviewing relevant studies on humorous video viewing and anxiety by systematically
searching for Chinese and English databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, Springer Link, SAGE,
CNKI, Wanfang Data, Weipu (VIP), etc, RevMan 5.3 software was used for data consolidation and
analysis. Results: Four studies with a sample size of 221 participants were included, including 111 in the
experimental group and 110 in the control group.The difference between the means of the pre- and posttest
anxiety score change values between the experimental and control groups was significant (MD=-2.56,
95% CI [-3.96,-1.16], p=0.0004) and heterogeneous (p=0.16, I²=42%). Conclusion: This study demonstrate
that viewing humorous videos can effectively reduce anxiety and that this humor therapy is cost-effective,
widely applicable, free of time and geographical restrictions, easy to implement, and has great potentials
for clinical, counseling, and mental health usage.