Purpose: To date, there is not enough evidence concerning the optimal treatment strategy for early rectal carcinoids, we conducted a meta-analysis in order to determine the feasible local treatment for these selected patients. Methods: We searched the studies from the PubMed, Cochrane database, Medline, Ovid, SpringerLink, PMC and Embase between January 2007 and April 2017. Studies of local surgical excision compared with endoscopic resection for rectal carcinoids less than 20mm without adverse features were included. Data were analyzed by using Stata SE 12.0. Results: Seven studies were included in this meta-analysis, with a total of 1056 patients. The data showed that local surgical excision was associated with higher complete resection rate than that of endoscopic resection (OR 5.837, 95% CI 2.048 to 16.632, P= 0.001) but consuming longer procedural time (SMD 1.757, 95% CI 1.263 to 2.251, P= 0.000). Additionally, incidences of recurrence and en bloc resection rate were comparable between two kinds of resections. The difference of post-operative complications remained unclear. Conclusions: For rectal carcinoids sized 20mm or smaller without adverse features, endoscopic resection might be an efficient treatment, which achieved a comparable oncological safety as local surgical excision.