University faculty in Southeast Asia (SEA) is being required to take on new roles and responsibilities resulting from rapid changes in higher education. To date, a range of faculty development (FD) initiatives has been implemented, but little has been uncovered concerning the effectiveness of these FD activities. Using a predetermined review protocol, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify the current foci and trends of faculty development in SEA higher education. We found that Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia were the leading providers of empirical evidence about FD activities. Teacher education and training were found to rank first among the disciplines that performed FD. This aligns with results of the focus and type of FD which primarily concerned improvement of pedagogical competence and self-directed learning. In addition, the findings suggested that most FD outcomes were found to be predominantly at levels 1 and 2 of Kirkpatrick's taxonomy (adapted from Hendricson et al. in "J Dent Educ" 71(12):1513-1533, 2007). Based on this review, we offered relevant recommendations for FD practice and research in this region.