Objectives: Although detecting breast cancer at an early stage through screening has been clearly shown to be an effective strategy, the screening participation rate in China remains low. This systematic review sought to synthesise the current evidence to identify factors associated with breast cancer screening participation among women in mainland China.

Design: This study was a systematic review.

Data sources: Studies were collected from PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE and three major Chinese databases, specially China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP and Wanfang Data.

Eligibility criteria: All included papers were original research studies with a longitudinal or cross-sectional study design that considered associated factors of breast cancer screening participation among women in mainland China.

Data extraction and synthesis: Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment were conducted independently by two reviewers, involving a third to help reach a consensus when necessary. Primary outcomes of interest included factors associated with breast cancer screening participation.

Results: A total of 19 studies were included in this review. Based on these studies, geographical region, a personal history of breast disease, past screening behaviours for breast disease, physical examination and the availability of medical specialists/equipment for breast examination were consistently associated with participation in breast cancer screening, while residential area, ethnicity and attitude towards breast cancer screening appeared to be associated with participation in breast cancer screening. There were additionally some factors with even more limited evidence with which to ascertain their association with screening participation.

Conclusions: There exists a wide range of factors that influence breast cancer screening participation in mainland China. These findings could help to inform future research and policy efforts.