Purpose: In this review article, meta-analysis was used to summarize research investigating language skills in maltreated children. Method: A systematic search of published studies was undertaken. Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they investigated language skills in groups comprising maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Studies were selected if these 2 groups of children were of comparable age and from a similar socioeconomic background. Results: A total of 26 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Results from the meta-analysis showed that maltreated children demonstrated consistently poorer language skills with respect to receptive vocabulary (k = 19; standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.463; 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.293, 0.634]; p < 0.001), expressive language (k = 4; SMD =0.860; 95% CI [0.557, 1.163]; p < 0.001), and receptive language (k = 9; SMD =0.528; 95% CI [0.220, 0.837]; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Together, these results indicate a reliable association between child maltreatment and poor language skills.