The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of frequency of feeding dairy cows with total mixed ration (TMR) on digestibility, feeding behavior, and milk production and composition in lactating cows, using meta-analysis and meta-regression methods. A total of 14 studies with 25 comparisons between treatment (higher feeding frequency) and control (lower feeding frequency) groups, met the selection criteria and included in the analysis. Type and amount of feed ingredients did not differ between treatment and control diets. The mean (±SD) forage and grain amount in the experimental diets were 539 ± 89.9 and 274 ± 104.2 g/kg DM, respectively. Increasing frequency of feeding (in average; 1.0× vs. 3.3×) decreased dry matter intake [DMI; weighted mean differences (WMD) = −0.134 kg/d; 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.505 to 0.236) but had no effect on milk production. The amount of forage in the basal diet and DIM were the sources of heterogeneity for DMI. Thrice-daily feeding compared with once a day increased milk fat yield (WMD = 15.02 g/d; 95% CI = 10.93 to 40.96), but milk fat content, and milk protein content, and yield remained unchanged. Increasing feeding frequency increased NDF digestion (WMD = 5.663%; 95% CI = 0.631 to 10.69). Results of meta-regression showed that more frequent feeding of diets containing high level of grains improved NDF digestibility in lactating cows, but lowered NDF digestion for high forage diets. Increasing the frequency of feeding did not change total feeding and ruminating times. In conclusion, feeding a TMR containing equal amounts of forage and concentrate 3 times a day vs. once a day decreased DMI without any changes on milk production.