Currently, newer epidemiological studies report the association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and risk of renal cancer (RCa). Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether IBD patients were associated with RCa risk. Various medical databases were searched from inception to April 2020. Standardized incidence ratio (SIR) or relative risk (RR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled. The meta-analysis was completed by STATA version 14.2. A total of 421 articles were identified, and 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data from 9 cohort studies showed a significantly increased risk of RCa in IBD patients (pooled SIR: 1.53; 95%CI: 1.25-1.80; I2 = 42.4%), especially for patients with Crohn's disease (CD) (pooled SIR: 1.95; 95%CI: 1.45-2.44; I2 = 39.9%). We did not observe a significantly increased risk of RCa in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) (pooled SIR: 1.31; 95%CI: 0.94-1.67; I2 = 48.0%) when compared to the background population. Only 2 case-control studies reported the results of RCa risk, showing no significant difference between IBD group and IBD-free group (pooled RR: 1.64; 95%CI: 0.52-5.22; I2 = 77.9%). Our findings indicate that IBD patients with special reference to CD patients have a significantly higher risk of RCa. Further studies are warranted to enable definite conclusions to be drawn. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.