Previous studies suggested that CTLA4 polymorphism (rs5742909) is associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer. In the present study, we performed a meta-analysis to systematically summarize the possible association between rs5742909 and the risk for cervical cancer. We conducted a search of case–control studies on the associations of rs5742909 with susceptibility to cervical cancer in PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Wanfang database in China, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. We extracted the data from eligible studies for meta-analysis. The association of cervical cancer risk with rs5742909 was estimated by pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs). There were four studies on rs5742909 and cervical cancer in our meta-analysis. Our results suggested that both T allele frequency (OR = 1.63, 95 % CI 1.06-2.50; P = 0.03) and (TT + CT) genotype distribution (OR = 1.72, 95 % CI 1.07-2.77; P = 0.03) of the rs5742909 were associated with risk for cervical cancer. This meta-analysis suggests that rs5742909 is associated with the risk of cervical cancer. Well-designed studies with larger sample size and more ethnic groups are required to further validate the results.