PurposeThe objective of this paper is to assess and synthesize the published literature related to the application of data analytics, big data, data mining and machine learning to healthcare engineering systems.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to obtain the most relevant papers related to the research study from three different platforms: EBSCOhost, ProQuest and Scopus. The literature was assessed and synthesized, conducting analysis associated with the publications, authors and content.FindingsFrom the SLR, 576 publications were identified and analyzed. The research area seems to show the characteristics of a growing field with new research areas evolving and applications being explored. In addition, the main authors and collaboration groups publishing in this research area were identified throughout a social network analysis. This could lead new and current authors to identify researchers with common interests on the field.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of the SLR methodology does not guarantee that all relevant publications related to the research are covered and analyzed. However, the authors' previous knowledge and the nature of the publications were used to select different platforms.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper represents the most comprehensive literature-based study on the fields of data analytics, big data, data mining and machine learning applied to healthcare engineering systems.