Aims <p>Understanding the effects of fires on soil fauna is critical, given their central role in belowground biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, especially in the current context of increasingly intense wildfires around the world. However, the impacts of fires on soil fauna communities on a global scale are still poorly understood.</p> Methods <p>Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis with 4578 paired observations to evaluate the effects of fire on soil fauna density, biomass, and diversity.</p> Results <p>Results showed that (1) fire significantly decreased soil fauna density, taxonomic richness, and Shannon Wiener diversity index by 41, 33, and 48%, respectively, but did not affect biomass and Pielou evenness index; (2) ecosystem type, fire regimes (e.g., fire type, intensity, and frequency), and aridity zone did not significantly influence fire effects on soil fauna density or taxonomic richness, while fire effects varied significantly among different taxonomic and functional groups; and (3) geographic coordinate showed significantly direct impacts on fire effects on soil fauna density and richness, while climate, plant productivity or soil property had no significant effects.</p> Conclusions <p>Overall, our results reveal global patterns of how fire shapes soil fauna communities, providing critical guidance for biodiversity conservation amid increasingly intense global fire regimes.</p>