Intermittent exotropia (IXT) is a relatively common childhood strabismus worldwide, non-surgical treatments are sometimes administered to prevent IXT from deteriorating, which has not been widely accepted by physicians. The objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of commonly used non-surgical treatment modalities (overminus lens therapy and part-time occlusion therapy) and observation in the treatment of intermittent exotropia. An exhaustive search of the literature in Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases was performed until July 2022. No language restrictions were used. The literature was rigorously screened according to eligibility criteria. Weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. A total of 7 articles with 1046 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Three studies compared the effects of OML and observation, three studies compared the effects of PTO and observation, and one study compared the effects of OML, PTO, and observation. Our pooled results showed that the commonly used non-surgical treatment modalities demonstrated superior outcomes compared with observation, with greater decreases in distance and near exodeviation control (OR, -0.51; 95% CI, -0.66 to -0.36, P < 0.001; OR, -0. 40; 95% CI, -0.54 to -0.25, P < 0.001). Patients who received the commonly used non-surgical treatment method had a greater decrease in the deviation at both distance and near (OR, -2.88; 95% CI, -3.75 to -2.01, P < 0.001; OR, -3.44; 95% CI, -5.34 to -1.55; P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of post-treatment proximal stereopsis (OR=0.01, 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.05, P=0.83). Further analysis revealed that OML showed a better significant treatment effect than PTO. The present meta-analysis indicated that commonly used non-surgical treatment modalities (overminus lens therapy and part-time occlusion therapy) were effective in improving the control and decreasing exodeviation angle of intermittent exotropia, and overminus lens therapy was superior to part-time occlusion therapy.