Objective To systematically evaluate the rehabilitation effect of cardiac rehabilitation in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP). Methods Relevant literature of cardiac rehabilitation effect in UAP patients was retrieved from the databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, VIP, China Biology Medicine disc, The Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science. After literature screening, data extraction, and quality assessment, Meta⁃analysis was performed using the RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 12 literature involving 1169 patients was enrolled. Meta⁃analysis results demonstrated that compared with the control group, cardiac rehabilitation could effectively ameliorate left ventricular ejection fraction, New York Heart Association cardiac functional classification, left ventricular end⁃diastolic diameter, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, peak oxygen uptake, and anaerobic threshold in UAP patients, and decreased total cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride levels, as well as decrease the incidence rates of rehospitalization and adverse cardiovascular events. However, cardiac rehabilitation exhibited no significant advantage in improving quality of life in UAP patients. Conclusion Cardiac rehabilitation can effectively ameliorate indices such as cardiac function, lipid metabolism, and peak oxygen uptake in UAP patients, decrease the incidence rates of rehospitalization and adverse cardiovascular events. However, its effects on quality of life require further studies to validate.