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Abstract Background Epidemiologic data have shown an increasing incidence and declining mortality rate in sepsis. However, confounding effects due to differences in disease classification might have contributed to these trends. To assess if a declining mortality over time could be supported by data derived from high-quality prospective studies, we performed a meta-analysis using data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on sepsis. The primary aim was to assess whether the mortality in sepsis trials has changed over time. The secondary aim was to investigate how many of the included trials could show efficacy of the studied intervention regarding 28-day mortality. Methods We searched PubMed for RCTs enrolling patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, published between 2002 and 2016. The included trials were assessed for quality and sorted by date of first inclusion. A meta-analysis was performed to synthesise data from the individual sepsis trials. Results Of 418 eligible articles, 44 RCTs on sepsis were included in the analysis, enrolling 13,315 patients in the usual care arm between 1991 and 2013. In this time period, mortality decreased by 0.42% annually (p = 0.04) to give a total decline of 9.24%. In subgroup analyses with adjustments for APACHE II, SAPS II and SOFA scores, the observed time trend was not significant (p = 0.45, 0.23 and 0.98 respectively). Only four of the included trials showed any efficacy with regard to mortality. Conclusions Data from RCTs show a declining trend in 28-day mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock patients during the years from 1991 to 2013. However, when controlling for severity at study inclusion, there was no significant change in mortality over time. The number of trials presenting new treatment options was low. Trial registration PROSPERO CRD42018091100. Registered 27 August 2018.