INTRODUCTION: Heart failure (HF) is the final common pathway for most cardiovascular disease (CVDs). Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major contributor to CVD burden and an independent predictor of mortality in patients with HF. However, the epidemiology of DM in African patients with HF is less well described. The current proposal is for a systematic review to assess the prevalence of DM in HF and the determinants of disease in patients with diabetes and HF in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic search of published literature will be conducted for observational studies on the prevalence of DM in HF and risk factors of HF in these patients in SSA. Databases including MEDLINE, Google Scholar, SCOPUS and Africa Wide Information will be searched from January 1995 to February 2016. Screening of identified articles and data extraction will be conducted independently by two investigators. Risk of bias and methodological quality of the included studies will be assessed using a Risk of Bias tool and STROBE checklist. Appropriate meta-analytic techniques will be used to pool prevalence estimates from studies with similar features, overall and by major subgroups. Heterogeneity of the estimates across studies will be assessed and quantified and publication bias investigated. This protocol is reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 guidelines. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The proposed study will utilise published data; as such there is no requirement for ethical approval. The resulting manuscript will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This review will identify the knowledge gaps as well as inform policymakers in the region on the contemporary burden of DM in patients with HF. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42015026410.