MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules, which participate in diverse biological processes and may regulate tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA may contribute to diverse functional consequences, including cancer development, by altering miRNA expression. Numerous studies have shown the association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 SNPs and cancer risk; however, the results are generally debatable and inconclusive, mainly due to limited statistical power. We carried out a meta-analysis of 46 studies including 20,673 cases and 25,143 controls to assess the association between the miR-196a2 rs11614913 and cancer risk by pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, we found a significant association between the rs11614913 (C > T) polymorphism and cancer susceptibility (recessive model, OR = 0.89, 95 % CI = 0.81-0.98). In the stratified analysis by cancer type, significant association of cancer risk was observed in lung cancer (allelic contrast, OR = 0.89, 95 % CI = 0.82-0.97; homozygote comparison, OR = 0.79, 95 % CI = 0.67-0.94; recessive model, OR = 0.84, 95 % CI = 0.74-0.96) and liver cancer (allelic contrast, OR = 0.88, 95 % CI = 0.79-0.99; homozygote comparison, OR = 0.77, 95 % CI = 0.61-0.98; heterozygote comparison, OR = 0.84, 95 % CI = 0.74-0.95; dominant model, OR = 0.82, 95 % CI = 0.73-0.92). During further stratified analysis by ethnicity, the rs11614913 polymorphism showed statistically significant association with increased risks of cancer in Asians (heterozygote model, OR = 1.15, 95 % CI = 1.01-1.30) but not in Caucasians. This meta-analysis suggests that the miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism may contribute to decreased susceptibility to cancer, especially including liver cancer and lung cancer. However, it may be a risk factor for cancer development in Asians. Larger, better studies of homogeneous cancer patients are needed to further assess the correlation between this polymorphism and cancer risk.