The methodology of conducting systematic review of prognostic studies has received a great deal of interest in recent years. Using GRADE for systematic review of prognostic studies, five aspects should be considered:risk of bias, indirectness, inconsistency, imprecision and publication bias. The methods of using GRADE system in systematic review of prognostic studies are similar to systematic review of interventional studies, meanwhile, there are differences. Not only the uniqueness of prognostic study but also the repeating downgrade should be taken into consideration in the GRADE process. Applying GRADE to systematic review of prognostic studies would be widely accepted along with the methodology development and quality improvement of systematic review of prognostic studies.
