Objective To have a deep understanding on the real experience of dietary management in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and to provide basis for dietary intervention tailored to these kind of patients. Methods Qualitative studies on diet management of CKD patients published by February 2020 were retrieved from such databases as PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Science Direct, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. According to the quality evaluation criteria for qualitative research of Australian JBI evidence-based health care center, the quality of different kinds of literature was evaluated, and the results were merged by means of pooled integration. Results A total of 15 publications were included. Sixty-three results were extracted and factored into 9 categories which further converged to form 3 results :the impact of CKD diet on patients (diet-related symptom distress, emotional experiences, life restrictions and cultural conflicts caused by CKD), coping styles (positive and negative coping), and needs (requiring knowledge and skills, professional support, and support from family and friends). Conclusion CKD diet has an impact on patients′ physical, mental, quality of life, and social aspects. Medical staff should pay attention to the patient′s coping styles, emotional experience and different needs, give patients need-based guidance and help, so as to enable them establish belief in diet management, make them foster positive coping styles, and enhance the effectiveness of diet management.