Six randomized controlled trials containing a total of 650 lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis patients were included in this meta-analysis comparing decompression plus lumbar fusion (n=375) to decompression alone (n=275). Pooled outcomes of interest included low back and leg pain improvement on the visual analogue scale (VAS), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score, patient satisfaction, incidence of complications, incidence of re-operation, Euro-Qol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) quality of life score, incidence of disease progression, and incidence of improved VAS pain scores. Results of this meta-analysis revealed no significant differences between the decompression plus lumbar fusion group compared to decompression alone for all pooled outcomes (p>0.05 for all).