Background <p>To estimate the overall prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR HPV) and HPV16/18 among the women in general population in India. This information is needed as a baseline to evaluate the impact of recently introduced nationwide HPV vaccination, as indicated in the World Health Organization (WHO) framework for cervical cancer elimination.</p> Methods <p>We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of cervico-vaginal HR HPV and HPV16/18 published from 2005 to 2024 among women with a representative sample size of least 100 from the general population. Searches were conducted in four online databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar). We excluded studies conducted only among women with increased risk of HR HPV infection such as women diagnosed with cancer, with a history of hysterectomy, pregnant, living with HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus), and sex workers.</p> Results <p>We identified 201 studies through database searches, of which 39 and 20 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis respectively. Among these, 6 reported overall HR HPV prevalence, 9 reported HPV16/18 prevalence, and 5 reported both. The pooled overall HR HPV prevalence in India was 11.4% (95% CI 8.5–15.2; <i>I</i>^<i>2</i> = 96.6%) and the pooled HPV16/18 prevalence was 5.6% (95% CI 3.7–8.2; <i>I</i>^<i>2</i> = 96.8%). The 95% prediction interval for HR HPV prevalence ranged from 2.9 to 36.0%, and for HPV16/18 from 0.7 to 31.7%. These observed differences between the studies were mainly driven by the use of non-standardized HPV tests and some by geographical region.</p> Conclusions <p>This review provides the most comprehensive estimates of data on HR HPV prevalence in India. However, the insufficient data to monitor the impact of the HPV vaccination programme at the national level urges the need for public health authorities and policymakers in India to prioritize systematic data collection on HPV prevalence with standardized framework/protocol across India.</p>