Purpose <p>This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of postoperative or preoperative comprehensive interventions including exercise and exercise-only interventions on postoperative ileus (POI) incidence and the recovery of intestinal function in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).</p> Methods <p>Electronic searches were conducted in 6 databases. Cohort and randomized-controlled trial (RCT) studies investigating the effects of postoperative or preoperative comprehensive interventions including exercise or exercise-only interventions on POI and the recovery of intestinal function in patients with CRC were included.</p> Results <p>Thirty-eight studies involving 13,124 patients were included. Postoperative comprehensive interventions including exercise significantly shortened the time to first flatus (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.87 to -0.89) and time to first defecation (SMD = -1.56, 95% CI: -2.20 to -0.92), but did not reduce POI incidence (odds ratio [OR] = 1.38, 95% CI: 0.43 to 4.47). While, postoperative exercise-only interventions showed no significant effect on intestinal recovery (SMD = -0.31, 95% CI: -1.21 to 0.58). Preoperative comprehensive interventions including exercise shortened the time to first flatus (SMD = -0.41, 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.17). Also, preoperative exercise-only interventions significantly reduced the incidence of POI (OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.46 to 0.67).</p> Conclusions <p>Postoperative comprehensive interventions effectively promote intestinal recovery; however, postoperative exercise-only interventions may not promote the recovery of intestinal function. On the other hand, preoperative comprehensive interventions or exercise-only interventions may promote the recovery of intestinal function and prevent POI onset; however, the limited number of included studies prevented definitive conclusions.</p>