This systematic review addressed the question of whether or not acupuncture is effective in the treatment of cocaine addiction. The Acupuncture Research Resources Centre database was accessed. Amed, Medline and Embase were also accessed, along with hand-searching methods at the British Library. Inclusion criteria were as follows: people addicted to either cocaine or crack cocaine as their main addiction, needle-acupuncture, single- or double-blinded randomised process. Exclusion criteria: use of moxibustion, laser acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), electroacupuncture or conditions that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Six RCTs met the inclusion criteria. All studies were of adequate methodological quality. A linear regression analysis did not show a statistically significant effect of acupuncture.