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The potential of model texts as a feedback instrument (MTFI) in second language (L2) writing has been explored for about two decades and continues to receive increasing interest from L2 scholars. However, to date, there is still an absence of a comprehensive review of studies in this particular area. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedure, this study aims to fill this gap by systematically reviewing 25 empirical studies on MTFI dating up to 1 April 2023, specifically focusing on three main aspects: study contexts, methodological characteristics, and primary areas of focus and key findings. The results revealed that existing MTFI studies (1) largely targeted low-intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at primary schools, (2) primarily adopted a quasi-experimental design involving a three-stage narrative writing task in a classroom-based setting, (3) predominantly focused on writing as a process, and (4) consistently reported MTFI’s potential for promoting L2 writing gains, especially in terms of lexical aspects. These results not only further our understanding about the effect of MTFI on different dimensions of task performance and L2 learning (i.e. L2 writing), but also provide some pedagogical implications for practices. Suggestions for addressing methodological issues in future studies are provided to advance this research domain.