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Background: Intensive (ICU) care in many African countries, such as Uganda is comparatively underdeveloped and underprioritized, largely because of other pressing healthcare system needs. However, experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic, declines in infectious disease-associated mortality, and the ongoing epidemiologic transition make the current state of critical-care in the region important. But most countries in the region, including Uganda, do not collect ICU data, leaving published studies as one of few potential sources of robust data. Existing systematic reviews utilize this fact; however, these studies report their findings in aggregate, making country-specific conclusions impossible. As a result, aspects of critical care in several individual African countries remain unknown. Objective: To assess intensive care utilization in Uganda over time; specifically, we ascertain patient demographics and the most common reasons for ICU admission. Methods: We performed a systematic search of the following indexing databases: PuBMed, EMBASE, Google scholars, and African Journals Online prior to March 2020. To assess the gray literature, we searched the dissertation databases of the largest public universities in the country (Makerere & Mbarara University) for relevant papers. Inclusion criteria for studies were: (i) study conducted in Uganda at a facility with intensive care capacity, (ii) adult population; (iii) N>100 patients. Findings: A total of 10 papers, collectively reporting on 3519 adult patients and published between 2005 and 2018 met our study’s inclusion criteria. The median of the average age on admission was 35.50 [IQR: 26.11-43.4], with post-operative management as the most common reason for ICU admission. Median mortality was 37.50% [IQR: 28.5-40.5]. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence supporting previous anecdotal reports of a comparatively low median age of patients in Uganda’s ICUs. However, we also find that most ICU research is conducted at the national referral hospital, Mulago, in the country’s capital, Kampala. This second finding highlights a significant knowledge gap, as private ICUs (whose catchment population includes Uganda’s rapidly growing middle class), and other districts in the country are not represented. As a result, these results should be interpreted cautiously. Future research studies should attempt to include private hospitals and those outside Kampala. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO. Registration ID: CRD42020168940