Aim: To conduct a systematic review of the effects of chewing on appetite, food intake and gut hormones, and a meta-analysis of the effects of chewing on self-reported hunger. Objectives: To seek insights into the relationship between chewing, appetite, food intake and gut hormones, and to consider potentially useful recommendations to promote benefits of chewing for weight management. Materials and methods: Papers were obtained from two electronic databases (Medline and Cochrane), from searches of reference lists, and from raw data collected from the figures in the articles. A total of 15 papers were identified that detailed 17 trials. All 15 papers were included in the systematic review; however, a further five studies were excluded from the meta-analysis because appropriate information on hunger ratings was not available. The meta-analysis was conducted on a total of 10 papers that detailed 13 trials. Results: Five of 16 experiments found a significant effect of chewing on satiation or satiety using self-report measures (visual analogue scales, VASs). Ten of 16 experiments found that chewing reduced food intake. Three of five studies showed that increasing the number of chews per bite increased relevant gut hormones and two linked this to subjective satiety. The meta-analysis found evidence of both publication bias and between study heterogeneity (IA 2 =93.4%, tau 2 =6.52, p