BACKGROUND: Many direct evidences have proved that the novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) were non-inferior or superior to warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and led to a clinically relevant decrease in bleeding profiles.However, there was no study comparing NOACs with each other head-to-head.The current study was a network meta-analysis aiming to assess the efficacy and safety of NOACs.