Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of design thinking education on university stu-dents’ creativity and problem solving ability through a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
 Methods For this study, 10 studies were selected through a systematic process of using several databases and 4 studies were used to estimate the effect size of design thinking education on university students’ creativity and problem-solving ability. Meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model, and the effect size on uni-versity students’ creativity and problem-solving ability was calculated.
 Results As a result of the systematic literature review, all 10 studies were NRCT. There were 7 studies related to creativity, and the outcome variables were creativity, creativity competency, creative potential, everyday crea-tivity, daily creativity, and group creativity. There were 4 studies related to problem-solving ability, and the related variable was problem-solving. creative problem solving ability, problem solving process, and proactivity of prob-lem solving. The average effect size of learning using the design thinking education on university students’ crea-tivity and problem-solving ability was 2.14(95% CI: 0.29~3.99), indicating a large effect size.
 Conclusions This study suggests that design thinking can be applied as a strategy to improve creativity and prob-lem-solving skills in university education.