It has been suggested that alcohol intake increases sunburn severity, a major risk factor for cutaneous melanoma (CM). Several epidemiological studies have investigated the relation between alcohol consumption and CM, but evidence is inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to better quantify this relation, using a meta-analytic approach. The dose-risk relationship was also modeled through a class of flexible non-linear meta-regression random-effects models. The present meta-analysis included 16 studies (14 case-control and 2 cohort investigations) with a total of 6,251 CM cases. The pooled relative risk (RR) for any alcohol drinking compared with non/occasional drinking was 1.20 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-1.37). The risk estimate was similar in case-control (RR=1.20, 95% CI, 1.01-1.44) and cohort studies (RR=1.26, 95% CI, 1.19-1.35). The pooled RR was 1.10 (95% CI, 0.96-1.26) for light alcohol drinking (≤1 drink/day) and 1.18 (95% CI, 1.01-1.40) for moderate to heavy drinking. The pooled RR from 10 studies adjusting for sun exposure was 1.15 (95% CI, 0.94-1.41) while the RR from 6 unadjusted studies was 1.27 (95% CI, 1.20-1.35). No evidence of publication bias was detected. This meta-analysis of published data revealed that alcohol consumption is positively associated to the risk of CM. Caution in interpreting these results is however required, as residual confounding by sun exposure cannot be ruled out. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.