Stomach cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. The relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of stomach cancer remains unclear. Epidemiology studies investigating this relationship showed inconsistent findings. A meta-analysis was performed in order to examine the association between alcohol consumption and increased stomach cancer risk. 57 epidemiology studies, including 49 case-control studies and 8 cohort studies, were included in this study. A significant association was found between alcohol consumption and increased risk of stomach cancer (OR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.18 to 1.38). To explore the source of the significant heterogeneity (p<0.05, I2=84%), studies were stratified by study type (case-control study and cohort study), control type (hospital-based control and population-based control), gender (male, female, and mix), race (White and Asian), and region (United States, Sweden, Italy, China, Japan, and India). The stratified analyses found that gender and region are two major sources the high heterogeneity. The potential reasons for the inconsistent results in different genders and different regions might be the distinctions in smoking habits and smoking rate. The positive association between drinking and increased risk of stomach cancer is consistent in all stratified analyses. The dose-response analysis showed a clear trend that a higher daily intake of alcohol is associated with a higher risk of stomach cancer.