Purpose Information literacy (IL) has been identified as a significant educational outcome. The first quarter of the 21st century has had a great impact on IL instructions and students’ academic performance (AP). However, there is limited evidence about the strength of this connection between IL and AP. This meta-analysis examined the literature on IL and AP of students. Design/methodology/approach The PRISMA updated guidelines were followed and 23 relevant studies fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis. Across the 23 publications included in the assessment, 22,054 research participants were collectively involved in the corresponding research studies. The Q test was significant (p < 0.05), and the I2 stayed within 97.70%. Hence, a random effect model was employed. Begg & Mazumdar tests of Kendall’s value is (−0.03) and p-value is (0.85), indicating no evidence of correlation between publication bias and study size. Findings This analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship between IL and AP according to the combined effect size value of r = 0.33 (p < 0.001). We further performed subgroup analyses (on the basis of geographical locations and publication periods) to investigate whether the effect size differed on the basis of subgroups. The relationship demonstrated higher strength in “other countries” (r = 0.39, CI = 0.25–0.53) when compared to the USA studies (r = 0.24, CI = 0.07–0.40). Similarly, studies published between 2008 and 2018 revealed a pooled correlation (r = 0.38, CI = 0.25–0.51) as compared to studies published between 2019 and 2024 (r = 0.25, CI = 0.30–0.45). Originality/value Overall, all these relationships revealed a medium magnitude of relationship, which suggests that there may be other important factors contributing to the AP of student. It means other important factors also contribute to the AP of students, including IL, cognitive and psychological, learning and teaching environment, socio-economic, technological, curriculum integration, institutional support and digital access.
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