Aim: This study aims to analyze and describe the effects of music listening in the management of pain in adult patients, as reported in systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Methods: A search of articles published between 2004 and 2017 was conducted on Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SCIELO, SpringerLink, Global Health Library, Cochrane, EMBASE and LILACS. Search, quality assessment, and data extraction was done independently by two researchers. Results: Most of reviews found a significant effect of music on pain. All analyses had a high heterogeneity, and only acute pain and music delivered under general anesthesia had moderate heterogeneity. No differences were found when music was chosen by the patient. Music type and its characteristics are scantly described and in terms that lack validity. Conclusions: More focused trials and reviews, objective language for music, and trials with music chosen by its characteristics are required. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd