Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been proposed to improve symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) but is not yet an established therapy.

To identify relevant guidelines and assess their recommendations for the use of DBS in OCD.

Medline, Embase, American Psychiatric Association PsycInfo and Scopus were searched, as were websites of relevant societies and guideline development organisations. The review was based on the PRISMA recommendations, and the search strategy was verified by a medical librarian. The protocol was developed and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022353715). The guidelines were assessed for quality using the AGREE II instrument.

Nine guidelines were identified. Three guidelines scored >80% on AGREE II. ‘Scope and Purpose’ and ‘Editorial Independence’ were the highest scoring domains, but ‘Applicability’ scores were low. Eight guidelines recommended that DBS is used after all other treatment options have failed to alleviate OCD symptoms. One guideline did not recommend DBS beyond a research setting. Only one guideline performed a cost-effectiveness analysis; the other eight did not provide details on safe or effective DBS protocols.

Despite a very limited evidence base, eight of the nine identified guidelines supported the use of DBS for OCD as a last line of therapy; however, multiple aspects of DBS provision were not addressed.