PurposeLiterature contributions to agricultural cooperative (AC) entrepreneurship model are fragmented and show some significant limitations. The purpose of this paper is to identify the existing important barriers to this entrepreneurship model as well as to group them into respective themes.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review (SLR) of peer reviewed journal articles was carried out by the authors in well-known databases, such as Scopus, Emerald, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, IDEAS/RePEc search and Web of Science. In total, 78 articles from 26 different countries during 2010–2019 were collected.FindingsA large number of important barriers are identified in the literature and meaningful dimensions of these barriers are also revealed.Practical implicationsThe study has important implications regarding the ways to improve the effectiveness of AC model. Researchers and practitioners can use the results presented in this study for further development of this model.Originality/valueThis study presents the important barriers in AC model in global scope analytically and groups them into meaningful themes, which significantly differentiate the present SLR study from those published so far.