This study intends to compare short-term efficacy of 12 chemotherapy regimens in treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by a network meta-analysis (NMA). PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched from the inception of each database to June 2018. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the 12 chemotherapy regimens for advanced NSCLC were included. Direct and indirect evidence were combined by NMA to evaluate the odds ratio and the surface under the cumulative ranking curves (SUCRA) of the 12 chemotherapy regimens. Nineteen RCTs that met our inclusion criteria were collected in this study. For partial response (PR), gemcitabine exhibited relatively poor efficacy compared with cisplatin + gemcitabine, carboplatin + gemcitabine, carboplatin + paclitaxel, paclitaxel + gemcitabine, and cisplatin + gemcitabine + vinorelbine. For overall response rate (ORR), gemcitabine had poorer efficacy than cisplatin + gemcitabine and paclitaxel + gemcitabine. For disease control rate (DCR), compared with carboplatin + gemcitabine and gemcitabine, paclitaxel + gemcitabine had a better efficacy. Gemcitabine had the lowest SUCRA values in terms of complete response, PR, ORR, stable disease, and DCR; whereas paclitaxel + gemcitabine ranked the highest in ORR, progressive disease, and DCR. The cluster analysis revealed that cisplatin + gemcitabine, paclitaxel + gemcitabine, and cisplatin + gemcitabine + vinorelbine had better short-term efficacy for advanced NSCLC. Collectively, short-term efficacy of multidrug combination chemotherapy regimens was superior to that of single-drug chemotherapy regimens for advanced NSCLC. Cisplatin + gemcitabine, paclitaxel + gemcitabine, and cisplatin + gemcitabine + vinorelbine may have particularly prominent short-term efficacy for advanced NSCLC.Non-small cell lung cancer (NCLSC) accounts for about 85% of lung cancers, with 5-year survival rates of 15.9%. 1 It was reported that nearly 75% of patients with NSCLC presented with the advanced-stage disease because obvious symptoms were absent from its early stage. 2 Environmental factors, like smoking, radon, and asbestos, as well as some internal genetic factors, have been suggested as possible etiological factors of NSCLC. 3 Currently, the main treatments for this disease include surgery, platinum-based chemotherapy, radiotherapy, molecular targeted therapy, and cell biological therapy. 4,5 Even though great advances have been achieved in lung cancer screening, diagnostics, and therapy since the last century, it is extremely significant to understand the application of NSCLC therapies and outcomes in clinical practice. 6 Currently, platinum drugs are recognized as one of the accesses to prolong survival of patients with advanced NSCLC. 7 It interferes with the DNA replication by the electrophilic effect