Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a growing global health concern, with diet playing a key role in its development and management. Given the widespread consumption of tea and its potential health effects, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the inconsistent findings from previous observational studies on the association between tea intake and IBS. Electronic databases including ISI, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane were searched from the beginning to November 2024 with appropriate and special search strategies. Odds ratios (OR) were extracted or calculated from eligible studies and meta-analysis was performed to calculate the pooled effect size. A significant association between tea consumption and IBS was observed in unadjusted studies (pooled OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.001–1.57). However, this association was not statistically significant in adjusted analyses (pooled OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 0.89–2.94). Subgroup analysis by region showed a significant relationship only in East Asia (pooled OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.16–1.68), while no significant association was found in other regions (pooled OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.73–1.75). Additionally, a significant association was found in high-quality studies (pooled OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.21–2.26). No evidence of publication bias was detected, and sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the findings. Tea consumption is positively associated with IBS, especially in East Asia. However, due to borderline confidence intervals and insufficient adjustment for confounders, the evidence remains inconclusive. Further prospective studies with precise measurement of intake are required to confirm this relationship.