ObjectiveTo screen the current optimal evidence for early removal of urinary catheters in patients after gastrointestinal surgery both domestically and internationally. MethodsWe systematically searched the following databases or website, including the UpToDate, the British Medical Journal Best Practice, the Jonna Briggs Institute Evidence-Based Healthcare Center, the Guidelines International Network, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Guidelines, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the European Association of Urology Nurses, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Library, ClinicalKey, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP. The literature was evaluated, and the evidence was extracted and summarized. ResultsA total of 27 articles were included, including 3 clinical decisions, 4 guidelines, 18 systematic reviews, 1 practice recommendation, and 1 expert consensus. The 23 evidence items were classified into five categories: pre-catheterization assessment (6 items), institutional and personnel requirements (2 items), strategies to shorten catheter indwelling time (8 items), bladder recovery strategies (5 items), and timing of catheter removal (2 items). These items were classified 5 evidence levels ccording to the 2014 JBI Evidence-Based Healthcare System Evidence Pre-Grading and Recommendation Level System: level 1 (6 items), level 2 (8 items), level 3 (1 item), level 4 (0 items), and level 5 (8 items). Recommendation grades: grade A (strong recommendation, 14 items) and grade B (weak recommendation, 9 items). ConclusionsThe high-quality evidence identified in this study regarding early urinary catheter removal can be effectively applied in the clinical management of patients after gastrointestinal surgery. However, there are few studies on this in China. These best evidence should be adaptively implemented according to the specific situation after gastrointestinal surgery in China.