Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) is a common complication following colorectal surgery. The incidence of POUR among colorectal surgery patients varies widely, and the risk factors and outcomes of POUR are also debatable. This meta-analysis aims to systematically evaluate the risk factors for POUR in patients after colorectal surgery. PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, and Chinese databases (CBM, CNKI, and WanFang Databases) were searched to identify relevant cohort studies (from inception to August 2022). Two researchers independently conducted literature quality evaluation and data extraction. All data were analyzed by using the Review Manager 5.4 software. Nineteen studies with 101,025 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The risk factors for POUR in colorectal surgery patients were male sex, older age, diabetes mellitus, urological diseases, tumor location in the lower rectum, APR, laparoscopic surgery, operation time ≥ 4h, postoperative date of urinary catheter removal, excessive intraoperative intravenous fluid volume, and postoperative ileus. The postoperative anastomotic leak, on the other hand, was not a risk factor for POUR. Multiple risk factors influence the incidence of POUR in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. To reduce the incidence of POUR in colorectal surgery patients, medical staff should identify risk factors early and enforce interventions to prevent them.